May You Never Be Alone
by flyingorfalling
Summary: When Dom is approached by an elusive woman in Cuba, who wants him to work for her, he is forced to face his past and deal with a secret he'd long kept hidden. [Rewrite of Fast 8]
1. Prologue

**A/N:** _This story is loosely based on The Fate of the Furious, a rewrite. This is just to see if you're interested in reading more._

* * *

"You're gonna betray your brothers, abandon your code and shatter your family." The blonde stranger sounded as though he had already agreed to work for her; like no matter what he said or did next, she would get _exactly_ what she wanted. A dark aura burned around her. Her eyes were hooks that stuck into him, pulling him into that darkness, so Dom made sure to keep his distance. "See, your team is about to go up against the only thing they can't handle."

"What's that?" he asked, curious.

"You."

She handed Dom her phone and he took it without asking further questions. He didn't know what to expect. All he knew was that woman seemed to have no doubts at all that he would do everything she asked of him, so whatever she had on that phone, had to be very convincing. It made him feel uneasy, but he tried not letting it show. Pressing Play, Dom fixed his eyes on the screen. There was no sound, but the video clearly showed a boy, maybe about ten or eleven years old. He was locked up in a room, trapped behind a shiny glass window at one side and a confining steel wall at the other. The boy sat on his bed, and as the camera zoomed in, Dom saw that his eyes were puffy, like he had been crying. It broke his heart.

He glanced at the woman with dreads, his look demanding answers. Dom noticed a kind of evil grin on her face that made it even harder for him to understand what this fuss was all about. Had he somehow pissed off some girl he didn't even know? Because she did give him the impression that this was personal, and he had no idea who she was. And what kind of leverage was this boy supposed to be? That woman wanted him to do something for her, something bad obviously, but he couldn't figure out how this kid fit in. Was she trying to use that boy to blackmail him, a boy he didn't know a thing about? What made her think that would work?

"That's your son, Dom," she said, almost emotionless.

"My son? I don't have a—"

"You sure about that?" She raised an eyebrow, continuing only a few seconds later. "Poor little guy," She sounded cold and wicked like the evil queen in Snow White, "didn't even know he was adopted." Her laugh cut through his meandering thoughts like a scalpel through flesh.

'Didn't even know he was adopted,' her words lingered—and then it hit him. His breath got caught in his throat. He tried to keep a straight face, but the more time he allowed for her words to bore their way into his head, his _heart_ , the more he seemed to lose his composure. He stared down at the phone in shock. It was _him_. The boy they had given life to, so many years ago. The boy they had never ever talked about again but whom they had thought of every day of their lives. Their kid.

He was _his_ son. His and Letty's.


	2. Their Little Racer

**A/N:** _Hopefully I can pull this off. As always, flashback starts and ends in italics. Thank you for the reviews guys! Xo_

* * *

Dom felt the world shudder and spin; a darkness swelled in his mind, his body trembled, and his muscles tightened. The cell phone almost slipped out of his shaking hands upon the revelation that this woman, this stranger, was holding his son hostage. When he had last seen him, he had been five minutes old. Ever since that moment he had wondered if he would ever see him again, would ever look at him again and smile — but now that he did, all he felt was pain. Tears welled in his eyes and he couldn't, not with all his might, keep them from falling.

He ran one finger over the screen, right where his son's face was, his beautiful face that reminded him so much of himself, so much of Letty. When they had found out about the pregnancy, they had chosen not to give the baby a name, as they both had been afraid to get too attached to it. They had called him their 'little racer,' like that boy was destined to become one. They had considered keeping him, but quickly realized that they couldn't care for a child. Their lives had been too crazy, too unstable. It wasn't a world they felt was safe to bring up a child in. Dom couldn't help but wonder, if the kid he was looking at was anything like the person he imagined him to be.

When his son rolled over in the bed and covered his head with a pillow, Dom's expression froze, as he saw small bruises on both his arms, like he had been violently grabbed and dragged along against his will. He looked up from the phone, stared right into the woman's face, and asked, "What did you do to him?"

"To him?" She laughed out loud, like she had just heard the funniest joke ever. But it wasn't a pleasant laugh, it was an evil one. "Oh, I did nothing to him. Now, his _parents_ , well, _that's_ a different story," she said, her voice feigning innocence. "Although you know, technically they aren't his parents, because you and your wife— Wait, did I say they aren't? Sorry, I meant, weren't. They _weren't_ his parents."

"You killed them," he said in shock, his words more of a statement than a question. Dom couldn't imagine what that little boy must have been through. He wanted so much to be there for him, to protect him. Had he witnessed it? Seen his adoptive parents be murdered in cold blood? Had he been beaten? Abused? So many questions floated about in his mind that he wished he could just talk to his son, get all the answers he needed. But he couldn't.

"I gave them a _choice_ , Dom. Just like I will give _you_ one," she noted, leaving room for speculation what she had really done to the people that boy knew as parents. "You've got one hour until that live stream ends and when it does, I'm gonna give you a call on that phone and ask you to make a choice. Choose wisely, Dom, because if you don't, that stream will get back live and I _really_ don't think you wanna see what happens then."

She got into her car, shut the door and stuck her head out the window, watching him as he stared at her with a look on his face that showed every emotion, from hurt to anger. She had spent months, more than a year, to gather all the information about him she needed to get him here, to get Dom to work for her. She had thought about kidnapping his wife, because she had seemed to be his weak spot, but then she had found out about their child and suddenly everything had fallen into place. She had him exactly where she wanted him. She could see it deep in his eyes. He tried fighting it, but she saw that he didn't get anywhere with it. Dominic Toretto was completely and utterly at her mercy — and she loved it!

She started the engine, smiling at him like they had just had the best time together, and told him, "Oh, and Dom? I wouldn't mention this to anyone." Giving him a wink, she disappeared. She had no doubt he would make the right decision and choose to do what she wanted him to do, because even though he had just met her, Dom seemed to know already that she wouldn't hesitate to reunite that boy with his parents, his _adoptive_ parents.

Staring back at the phone, Dom's eyes focused on his son, who still had the pillow over his face. Was he crying again? Why didn't this thing have sound? Why didn't she at least allow him to hear his voice? He had no idea how it sounded, no idea how his _own_ child talked, or cried for that matter. The only time he had ever heard him cry was the day he was born and that had been about ten years ago. Ten years, two months and five days to be exact. It had been a beautiful summer's day, and Letty had gone into labor right after she had told him not to worry.

 _Once they had found out Letty was pregnant, they had decided not to tell anyone, especially since they didn't intent to keep the baby but let someone else experience the joy of becoming a parent. Lucky for them, she just looked like she'd put on a little weight and didn't actually start showing until she was about seven months along, so one asked any questions. And then, when her bump got bigger and they feared her belly would pop out soon, Dom and Letty knew they had to come up with a good reason about why they had to leave for a while._

 _That was why they had started to work on a car Dom had won at one of the street races early on in her pregnancy. A 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda. They had destroyed every single part of it and rebuild it from scratch. When it was finished they told the others that they wanted to compete in races all over California. No one questioned their intentions to get away, although Mia kind of did when she suggested they were just doing that so they could spend some time together, only the two of them. They both had laughed at it, especially knowing the truth._

They had gone to a place just far enough from Los Angeles not to bump into anyone. They couldn't risk that with Letty's belly starting to grow. It was hard enough having to go through that. They needed to do this by themselves and not have anyone interfere with their plans. It was a done deal, something they'd thought about for weeks until they had made up their mind. Aborting that baby had been part of those thoughts too. They had made an appointment, but never showed. They wanted their child to have a life, even if it was one that didn't include them. They would always be their baby's parents. _Always_.

"Are you feeling okay," Dom asked her when he was done washing the dishes. "You've been cramping all day, I just wanna make sure you—"

"I'm fine," Letty answered, smiling. "There's no need to worry. That little racer and I are doing just perfect. We had a conversation about it and I told him, I still have some things to do first before he arrives. I guess he's just a bit restless."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure," she nodded. "You can go. If I need anything, I know where to find you." Letty held out her hand, waiting for him to grab it. When he did, she squeezed it and guided it to her mouth to kiss the back of it. "Thank you for caring, though," she whispered, flashing her smile again, and Dom flashed her one in return.

"Okay, but—" He bent down to her slightly parted lips, only to give her a chaste kiss. "If you need anything and I really do mean _anything_ , you know where to find me."

"Baby... what did I just say?" Letty laughed quietly. Cupping his face, she pulled him in for another kiss; one that she made sure lasted a little longer than the kiss before. The deep chuckle escaping his mouth was swiftly silenced, but came back when their lips parted. "What's so funny?" she wanted to know, looking at him with a grin.

"'Nothin'," he smiled. "I'm just glad you're okay... with everything. We never really talked about what it's like to know— You're happy, right? Because if you're havin' second thoughts, you can tell me."

"I don't. I'm glad we didn't— I'm glad we decided to have him, but this is— Giving him up is the right thing to do, Dom. I mean I hardly made it through this pregnancy, you know. I can't imagine actually keeping him. I'm a wild girl, not a mom."

Though she laughed out loud, Letty felt a sting in her heart. She would always be a mother now. Nothing could ever change that. She had carried him for nine months and she would never forget what that had been like. But this was for the best. The small human inside her just didn't belong with them. He deserved a better life, a stable home, and to be with people that really knew how to care for him. Maybe one day she would get to meet him again and be proud of the person he had become, and proud of herself for choosing this life for him instead of her own.

"That you are," Dom laughed. He kissed her again before he pulled away. "So, I'll see you in a bit, yes?" Letty nodded. "Love you," he told her, brushing her shoulder with his hand on the way out.

Letty sat for about an hour at the table, trying to write a letter. She hadn't planned to do this, but she felt like she had to so she could really let go. It was a letter for him — the kid she never thought she was going to have, going to give up. If he would ever ask about where he came from when he was older, she wanted him to know. She wanted her son to know that even though they hadn't kept him, they loved him. She hadn't wanted to get too attached to their baby, but carrying it had of course changed that. And this was something she needed to do now. He deserved to know.

Hey kid,

"I suck at this," Letty muttered her discontent, as she threw the paper in the trash, rolling her eyes.

My darling son,

That seemed more like it.

I don't know if you know who I am—

"Ugh, he can't know that, 'cause—" This was exactly why she'd never written any guy a love letter. Well, not that any guy had ever deserved that — she hadn't loved anyone but Dom anyway — but writing it down was harder for her than imagining just saying it to him.

I don't know if you'll ever read this, but if you do, I just want you know that it's okay to have questions... and to ask them. So, if you wanna know where you come from, call that number at the bottom of the page and I will pick up and talk to you about everything.

She looked at the words she had written down, frowning. Was this the right way to go? She had no idea. Feeling the baby in her belly kick repeatedly in rebellion, she flinched. "Stop kicking me, little man, I know this is bad," Letty responded, "but I'm trying."

I don't ever want you to think you weren't loved, because your father and I really—

She scratched out the words she'd just added and began again. She couldn't talk about her feelings for him, because then she might start crying and that was the last thing Letty needed right now. She didn't want to keep him, but that didn't mean this was easy for her. She did love her child, and that was exactly why she had to give him up. They were just beginning to understand who they really were, Dom and her. In life as well as to each other. They might not be that young anymore, but they were still figuring stuff out.

I'm sorry we couldn't keep you... ride with you... I really am, but our lives weren't made for a child when we had you. I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive us, because you'll always be in ours. Promise.

Love,

Mom.

Unbidden, a tear slowly ran down her face, rolled off her chin, and splashed on the piece of paper. _Damn hormones_ , she thought, trying to fight the urge to cry. It seemed like every time she tried the hardest not to let her emotions get the better of her, she failed.

Writing down the number of their landline back in L.A., she wondered if he would ever make that call. She knew Dom and Mia's house would always be their home, so no matter when that boy decided it was time to call them, someone would pick up. She just hoped it would be her or Dom, because she didn't really want to find out what could happen should Mia pick up first. Some day they would tell everyone they were close to. Maybe. Maybe not. They hadn't actually talked about how to handle this once they were through with the adoption.

"I hope you like this, baby," she whispered, as she wrapped the letter into an envelope. She looked at it and sighed, then laid both her hands protectively over her pregnant belly, as if to soothe the restless baby. "Shhh," she breathed softly. Letty's eyes closed, but the tears streamed from under her eyelids. She hoped she would get to meet him one day and see the boy, or the man, their beautiful baby had become, though she was scared of that moment, of how it would make her feel.

When she tried to stand to her feet, she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. It took her by surprise. As she tried to stand the second time, her water broke. Yelling out in distress, Letty held her stomach, fighting off another spasm of pain. "Dom!" she shouted, as she leaned against the chair, "This can't—" She gave another strangled cry. "I told you I'm not ready yet," Letty hissed down to her belly, addressing the baby boy inside her. "You're just like your papa. You _never_ listen."

When Dom entered the kitchen, he noticed the fluid gathering on the floor beneath her chair right away. He had been right to worry about her, he saw that now, but of course Letty hadn't listened to him. That girl never did. Biting back the panic threatening to choke him, he tried to keep his voice calm. "It's gonna be okay, baby. I'm here." He let her squeeze his hand, as he guided her outside, ignoring the pain it caused him. "I got you, Letty."

"I know," she whispered, clutching her belly as another cramp assailed her. "But I hate you for putting me through this," she added, taking a deep breath. "I wouldn't be here if you— Fuck!" she screamed in pain, "Will you just stop? This shit hurts!"

Dom looked at her, confused for a second, but realized quickly that she wasn't talking to him. She was talking to their baby. It got a smirk out of him, just a small curve of his lips. It was gone in a flash once she gave his hand another squeeze like she was purposely trying to break it. He groaned with pain, trying to tell her that soon this would all be over, but she kept cussing, clearly not listening to, or wanting to hear, anything he said. She then started to cuss _him_ out, threatening to kick his ass once that baby was born. Dom laughed at it, but Letty made sure to give him the most evil stare she could given the circumstances.

"It's all your fault," she stated, as he helped her getting into the car.

"I know," Dom replied.

"I _hate_ you," she fired at him. "You and your _stupid_ dick."

"I know," he repeated.

Dom opened the door on the other side to go sit behind the wheel. He watched Letty closing her eyes as another contraction came on. Lines of distress and anxiety creased her pretty face and he wished he could put an end to her suffering. His girl definitely wasn't the kind of woman who needed to be saved by a man, but just today he wanted to be that guy to her. He wished he could be. However, looking at her made him realize that they had chosen to do the right thing by wanting to give that baby up for adoption.

They couldn't be parents right now. They didn't know how to. They had _just_ figured out a way to make real money by getting his dad's garage up and running, and a great chance of making Toretto's Market a spot for people to meet and have lunch. After his father's death, after Dom had been sent to prison, everything had kind of fallen apart. Now they finally had managed to work out an actual plan to keep their business afloat and they couldn't risk losing that again. They needed to be able to _provide_ for a child before they _had_ one. This wasn't the right time.

"Pinche puto," she cursed, and the expression on Letty's face made clear that another contraction had started. So Dom extended his free hand, and Letty grabbed it. "This is not fair," she cried out. "I should've never let you—"

"Love you?" Dom cut in, grinning.

" _Fuck_ me," Letty retorted sharply.

"Oh, c'mon, Let. It's not like I forced myself on you," Dom laughed out loud, focusing his eyes on the road. " _You_ jumped _me_ first."

"Then _why_ didn't you stop me?" Letty tried to steel herself against the pain, hoping she sounded as mad as she had intended to.

"Why would I?" Dom threw a smirk at her when he looked sideways. "I wanted that as much as you. Even more," he argued, chuckling.

* * *

Letty had decided to give birth to their baby the natural way, though now that it was really happening, she wasn't so sure anymore that she had made the right decision. It hurt, much more than she could've ever imagined. Another contraction came. Letty winced and held her breath for a minute, then suddenly let it out in a long wail of pain. She lurched forward, holding her breath again. Dom took her hand and she grabbed on to it for dear life until the pain subside a minute or two later. She had a brief moment to reflect on how undignified this was before another contraction started.

"Okay, Letty. Bear down... Now," the doctor told her to push.

"I can't do this," she screamed, the pain building until she thought it'd rip her in two. "I just can't!"

"Ride or die, remember?" Dom was sure she would've hit him if she had had the strength right now. Instead, she just gave him an evil look. "I'm sorry, Letty. We got this, okay? I'm here. It's almost done."

Dom's hand was holding hers, his other arm was under her shoulders, supporting her, and he tried to do everything in his power to make this as comfortable as he could for her. He knew she didn't like to be in a position that made her look weak, didn't want to seem emotional, she hated that, and yet that was exactly how she must feel at the moment. She squeezed his hand during the contractions with strength he did not know she possessed, and he assured her over and over again that everything would be fine.

"Doing great, baby. Just keep—"

The words died in his throat as he saw the doctor holding a tiny little head in her hands. His son's head. She worked quickly, suctioning out the baby's mouth, then told Letty to wait until the next contraction to push. As his girlfriend arose to her elbows, pushing down, Dom held his breath and prayed. It amazed him how Letty managed to do all this, knowing she went through it not even wanting to keep the baby. Dom knew she felt weak right now, but she had never seemed stronger to him.

And then it was all over. The doctor held a tiny little boy in her hands. A beautiful, perfectly healthy baby. It made a tear roll slowly down Dom's cheek. He couldn't believe he'd just witnessed this tiny infant pushing his way into the world, screaming his protest as he was taken from his snug little nest. He looked at Letty, smiling through tears, and caressed her forehead with his large rough hands, then let his fingers run through her hair.

"I'm so proud of you," he whispered into her ear before he leaned down to tenderly rub his nose against hers. He gave her a kiss, on her mouth, her cheek, her forehead, wetting her skin with his tears all the while hearing his son scream.

"So, do you want to meet your son?" the doctor asked, and instantly heard Letty say no. She looked at Dom, a bit puzzled, and he smiled at her like he was trying to apologize for his girlfriend's snappy response. She didn't know they were giving him up and that was probably why Letty didn't want to hold him or even look at him. It explained the sharpness in her voice; in that simple word 'no.'

"You really don't wanna— This is the last time we're gonna see him, Let." Dom gave her a pleading look, hoping she would reconsider.

There was no telling how long it'd take until they would be reunited with their child; if they would ever have that moment at all. Maybe it all came down to this. Maybe this was in fact their first hello and last goodbye, and Dom didn't want her to regret anything; regret not being with her son for at least one small moment of her life, of _his_ life. He knew how heavy this must weigh on her heart, he could feel it too, but their decision was made. They still believed the adoption was the right thing to do for their son. The sadness didn't change that.

Letty looked at Dom, her face wet with tears, her lips moving, trying to say something, but the words would not come. She couldn't do this, couldn't look at her child knowing she would instantly fall in love with that tiny human like she had never before loved anyone else in her life. She couldn't have her baby boy in her arms, only for him to be taken away from her minutes later. She knew she'd cry like a dam with broken walls, like someone was ripping her beating heart out while she was still alive. How could anyone suffer through that without being broken for the rest of his life? She couldn't.

"It's okay," Dom mouthed and put his lips on her cheek, tasting the saltiness of her tears. "I love you. It's gonna be alright." He turned to the nurse and walked over to her, throwing one last look at Letty, who closed her eyes, as she tried to find peace after the turmoil of giving birth. "I—I wanna— Can I hold him?" Dom raised the question he had been dying to ask ever since he'd seen the tiny little head. "Please?"

"Of course," she said and placed the newborn in Dom's arms. The baby stopped screaming the second it made contact with his dad. Happy, smiling, Dom cradled the infant in his arms. "You guys have a name for him," the nurse wanted to know and he shook his head.

"We're— We're not— We're giving him up for adoption, so—"

"Oh, I see," she smiled, "I'll give you a minute then," and left the room.

Gazing down in disbelief at the little being they had created, he couldn't stop the tears from falling. "Look at you," he chuckled, "you're perfect!" His heart warmed and he held their boy closer to him, giving him a soft kiss on his tiny head, "God, you're just perfect," and another one on his cheek. He smelled the baby's skin, a smell of cocoa butter and talc, so sweet Dom thought he'd remember that smell forever. He rubbed his chin against his hair, which was thick and soft. Their little racer looked a lot like Letty.

The infant opened his tiny mouth and yawned, and Dom laughed. "Seems like you got your mama's big mouth, too." He faced Letty, who looked like she was asleep, though he was almost certain she just pretended to be. Staring back at his son, he sighed. He had never had such a sensation as this. Dom felt so full of life, so overjoyed; yet the deep pain in his heart was worse than anything he had ever felt, and only for a brief moment, he wished they could just start a life with him, see him grow up.

"His adoptive parents are waiting outside, Mr. Toretto, so we kindly ask you to say goodbye now. I'm sorry," a voice sounded, and he was so caught up in the miracle that was his son, it startled him. The boy started crying again as though he had been startled too.

Turning round, Dom looked into the face of their adoption agent. They had wanted it like this and explicitly asked for the people adopting their son to be notified once Letty went into labor, but now it all seemed to happen too fast. At least they had gotten the chance to find their kid a loving home where he'd be taken good care of. They had met them, talked to them, and realized they didn't need to worry the least bit about their baby's future, because the parents he was going to have were kind and generous people.

"It's too soon," Dom spoke, barely sounding the words, as he felt the realization of their decision sink in. His emotions arose and he kept his eyes fixed on his newborn son. "It's too soon," he repeated, kissing him again. As the woman tried taking the infant from him, Dom resisted, not willing to let him go. "Please," the deep voice pleaded, "I—I just want five more minutes with him."

 _"You get_ _one_ _," she said sternly, like this wasn't the first time someone refused to hand a baby to her right away. She smiled, but Dom had a feeling it wasn't an honest smile. Maybe she had to act that way so she got her job done._

 _Focusing on his child, Dom put his lips to his ear. "I promise we'll see each other again, mijo." He knew this was a promise he might not be able to keep, but saying it made his heart feel a little bit lighter, if only briefly. Dom raised the baby's face to his own and looked into his eyes. He smiled, even as the tears shook him, and a pink smile spread across the boy's face. He was smiling back at him and nothing could've made Dom happier in that moment. With a heavy sigh, he pulled the tiny life close to his chest, into the crook of his neck, and stroked its head ever so gently with his free hand. "I love you," he whispered before he finally let go of the precious child he knew would never be forgotten._

That same feeling of love welled up slowly inside of him, as he stared at the screen, watching his son in that small room, which Dom thought of more as a prison cell. This was not how he had pictured them to meet again. It certainly wasn't supposed to be over a phone screen or through a thick glass wall. He hated to see his boy like this and not be able to reach out to him. The rage burned in him white hot and threatened to engulf his soul. He would _kill_ that woman, if she harmed his child.

Unfortunately, Dom knew he was the only one who could keep that from happening; could save him, if he did whatever she wanted him to do. But the price he would have to pay working for her was high when weighed against the pain and hurt his betrayal would cause his family. He would have to hurt Letty once again and that thought alone broke his heart. But he couldn't tell her, no matter how much he wanted to. He could let her in on what he was asked to do, then they could both play along like she had no idea, but she would probably want to go on her own little rescue mission and he couldn't risk losing her again.

Dom let out a deep sigh, realizing he was done thinking about it and the decision already made. He had no _choice_. He needed to work for her, do every little thing she would ask of him, because he needed to save his son. If Letty would forgive him for hurting her — yet again — he could explain everything to her and they would finally get to have a life with their beautiful baby, be there for their boy every step of the way. Dom knew _that_ was the thought he needed to hold on to, because he couldn't do it, if he didn't have something to remind him of what he was doing it for.

Taking one last look at the phone, he put it in his pocket, grabbed the bag with the flower and breakfast and started walking back to their apartment. He was scared to meet Letty, knowing it would be hard for him to act normal around her due to the fact he had found their son. But he had to try. He just couldn't let her know what he knew. Dom truly hated lying to her, but again, that wasn't a choice he had made. He didn't have one. He could only hope that their relationship would survive this. He had been through so much with Letty, but never took for granted that she was still with him after everything he had done to fuck it up.


	3. Already Gone

**A/N:** _Thank you for all your kind reviews. Can't believe this story has already gotten so many followers. Definitely feeling the pressure now... Y'all crazy! This is smutty and fluffy. I thought it was much needed since there won't be any happiness for a long while. Did I mention it's sad, too?_ _If you're wondering why Letty isn't thinking of their baby when they talk, I'll try to explain that later in the story. Think of it as a form of self-protection._

 _Thanks again. Enjoy x_

 _ **Rated M**_

* * *

Going inside, he took off his shoes, put the keys away and went into the kitchen to make breakfast. Placing the baguette on a wooden cutting board, Dom smiled as his nostrils filled with the sweet smell. He pulled a bread knife from the knife block and began slicing the baguette into sandwich-size rolls, then took guava marmalade out of the cupboard and cheese from the fridge. Knowing Letty would love to have some fruits with her meal, he prepared a bowl of melons, papaya, mangoes, pineapples and mamey. Lastly, he poured his wife fresh Cuban coffee into her favorite mug and placed everything on a tray along with the red rose he had gotten her earlier.

Dom walked over to the bed where his wife was still sleeping. He put the tray on the bedside table, took the rose in his hand and sat down at the edge of the bed right next to her body. He held it under her nose and lay his other hand on the small of her back. Letty's nose twitched a few times and then a mischievous smile crept onto her sleepy face as she slowly rolled on her back. That smile was unequivocally the most delightful that he had ever seen. He wanted it to last forever. It was not just her smile; her face was unmistakably the most captivating too. He wished with all of his heart that he didn't have to do what he had to do—cause her pain.

He was looking into her eyes; Letty was looking into his. Her eyes were large and beautiful. Those kind of eyes that could drown anyone in them even in a world where there was no force of gravity. Dom was dazed and paralyzed for a moment until he could feel her arms looping around his neck, pulling him closer. She kissed him sweetly on the lips a few times, her kisses as soft as fluttering eyelashes. Dom closed his eyes just feeling, and focusing, on her affection for him. He let the rose fall to the floor as he put both hands to her face, cupping Letty's cheeks, his body moving over hers.

"I've missed you," she whispered, smiling again, and he opened his eyes to be able to look at her.

He reached out and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. Tenderly stroking the side of her cheeks with his fingers, Dom stared deeply into her eyes, in exactly the way Letty stared into his. They studied every feature of each other's faces, and the silence between them was of peace rather than that awkward and uncomfortable silence of lacking communication. They had experienced a lot of these silent moments during their honeymoon. It wasn't exactly new to them to have moments of just staring at each other in silence without a word being said, but the intensity of these moments certainly was. They had never felt so emotional simply looking at each other.

"What?" Letty giggled when she saw him smiling, like a thought had just come to him. She brought a finger up, stroking his lower lip, watching her finger in its play.

It was crazy how much she loved him, now more than ever, which she had thought wasn't possible. She'd thought she had loved Dom with all her heart, but it seemed she had loved him with only a small part of it, because now she truly was head over heels in love with this man. It was one of these small moments that took her breath away. She wanted so much to kiss and make love to him, every day, every _minute_ of her life. He was truly the most important person in her universe and there was no doubt at all that she would take a bullet for him if it meant saving him, or dying with him. Her vows weren't just a promise to him, they were a reality. What kind of life was that if she had to live it without him?

"You make me happy," he susurrated, kissing her finger that still touched his lips.

"You said that last night already," Letty's smile broadened until it crinkled her eyes and a warm flush stained her cheeks.

"And I'm saying it again, because I mean it," Dom said, his expression serious but not hard.

Letty traced his jawline, the hollow of his cheeks, the corner of Dom's eyes and the arch of his eyebrows with the same finger that she had put to his lips before. "Look at you," she said, "So different now. Hardly any trace remains of that arrogant young boy."

"Is that a bad thing?" Dom laughed, doing exactly the same thing to her face. He traced every outline of it until his hand strayed to rest on her bare shoulder, his fingers curving slowly around it before sliding up into the thickness of her tousled hair.

A soft laugh escaped her lips. "It just amazes me sometimes how far you've come," she explained and put both hands around his neck, barely able to lose touch with Dom's skin, as though it would stop her from breathing.

"You changed me," he admitted, his finger playing with a strand of her hair. "I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for you."

"You think so?" She felt her cheeks blush again, as she looked him in the eyes, his shining eyes full of love and gratitude.

"I _know_ so."

"So, what kind of magic did I work on you? Was it my boobs getting bigger when you _finally_ noticed me? Did _they_ change you?" Letty stifled the laugh she felt building and turned it into a grin instead as Dom grinned back at her, a foolish grin that followed a quick glance to her chest.

"Well, I'm pretty sure they were part of it." He gave her a playful dig in the ribs, making her flinch, and started tickling her. "You just love this, don't you?" Dom chuckled, as she squirmed, struggling to get away.

"I don't know what you mean," she laughed, obviously lying to him.

"Teasing me?" Dom said, keeping his hands busy in another type of teasing game.

"Yes," Letty squealed with helpless laughter, squirming in his hold. She giggled so hard tears flowed from her eyes as he searched for ticklish places on her. "Mercy," she cried, "Please!"

He stopped tickling her, laughing at the look on her face, at the fact her hair looked even messier now with all the squirming she had been doing. She looked adorable. "Well, look at _you_ now," he grinned, "I see every trace of that girl who could look all messy and dirty and _still_ take my breath away. All that's missing is the engine grease on her face." His grin turned into a cheesy smile.

Letty's heart thundered as she stared up at Dom. Not just from the bout of tickling, but from the desire that suddenly darkened his eyes. "We were pretty wild, huh?" she emphasized with a wide smirk on her face, her fingers grazing along the smooth skin at the back of his head.

"We still _are_ ," he answered, as he slowly pulled at the covers so the sheet slipped off her breasts. No shirt. Just Letty's bare breasts.

Letty watched his movements with a raised eyebrow, grinning. "So, are we gonna ask the question _now_?"

"What question?" Dom said quietly, using only the tip of his index finger to draw the covers further down. Bare stomach. Bare hips.

"The one where we ask yourselves if we wanna have kids."

Dom froze and met Letty's gaze. Last night, they had talked about the racer and his dad, about why they had not yet asked themselves if they wanted to start a family, but instead of really talking about it and make a decision, they had quickly gone back to having sex, like they didn't need to answer that question for another day or two, or months. Maybe they had known this wasn't something to discuss easily. Maybe neither one of them had wanted to talk about it more and possibly ruin that moment, because they feared to disagree on that matter.

His hands at her hips, Dom stroked them lightly, watching her body as it moved to every breath she made. To his surprise, her breathing was steady, like she wasn't anxious to have a conversation about this—unlike him. He felt his heart racing. He felt trapped. It wasn't her fault, but he wished she had never brought it up, because it made him sick to his stomach. The idea of talking about having a baby now, knowing their first kid was out there, held hostage, was horrifying. It killed him inside not to be able to say anything about this to her.

"Letty," he breathed, sighing.

"What?" She squinted her eyes, studying his face in confusion as she tried to make sense of his strange behavior. The sudden tension in his body screamed out to her, warning her she might have misinterpreted his intentions. "I thought you wanted to—I thought we wanted—So, you don't wanna talk about it... Okay, I get it."

"No, it's not that, baby, I just—"

"You don't wanna have kids," Letty uttered the words like it wasn't even a question to her anymore. "It's fine."

Dom crawled up her body, settling between her legs. He guided his hands to her face and cupped her soft cheeks. "Listen to me," he murmured, trying to block out the thought of their abducted son. "I'm sorry, Let, okay? I didn't mean it like that."

"Well, what _did_ you mean then?" Letty blew out a frustrated breath as confusion turned into disappointment. "I know you inside out. You and your... _sighs._ " The muscles in her face tightened. Had she missed something? There had been no clue that he was going to react this way. Nothing at all. He had been in a completely different mood last night when they had talked about this briefly—happy, joyful, excited even. What had changed since then?

"It was just a sigh, Letty."

"It's never _just_ a sigh with you," she argued. "Look, I'm cool if we just keep doing what we're doing without throwing a baby into the mix, but you gotta say something and let me know how you feel, cos right now it's like you're trying to make excuses and—"

Dom put a finger to her lips to shut her up. He had feared this would happen and rightly so. Knowing about their son made it extremely difficult for him to act like everything was fine around her. He had managed to distract himself by focusing on her and how she made him feel, and it had worked until Letty had started to bring up the topic they both actually wanted to talk about. Now he needed to make sure she didn't figure out the truth behind his awkward behavior.

"You wanna know what I think?" He began playing with her hair. "I think we never asked the question, Letty, because we weren't ready." Dom's breathing was steady, which was surprising considering his heart was racing. He let his hand touch her waist, stroking along her hip bone. "Am I ready to have your babies now?" he said, as a grin spread across his face; one that easily covered up Dom's anxious state of mind. He had worked hard to get it there. "You _bet_ I am."

"So, you really wanna do this?" It was hard for Letty to read him. He had been acting so strange and now he kind of still did, but as she looked him deep in the eyes she could see something meaningful in them, something true. Telling her that he wanted to have children hadn't been a lie. It wasn't an act. He really meant it.

"Do you?"

"I don't know," Letty smiled shyly. "Do you think it's okay to be a lil' scared?"

"Absolutely," Dom answered with a reassuring smile. He put a strand of her hair behind her ear, as he kept caressing the soft skin at her hips with his other hand. "But you have nothing to worry about. You got _me_. And I'll be there every step of the way looking out for you."

He swallowed hard, forcing himself to keep a straight face as he was thinking of their firstborn again and how he needed to look out for him too, because that boy had no one else to do that for him, no one left to care enough to save him. It was like one of these moments in which Dom couldn't help but think life had meant to turn out this way. Finally, they were both ready to have kids, and there he was—their little racer. It was fate. The cruel thing about it was, though, that the boy's mother had no idea their child was waiting for them at the end of that dark road he would soon be on.

"Promise me," she whispered.

"I promise you, Letty," he replied without hesitation.

His thumb stroked her temples and he gently kissed the top of Letty's head, treasuring the feel of her in his arms. Letty closed her eyes, as she sighed deeply. Dom was here. They were together and enjoying their honeymoon and _that_ was what was important now. Tomorrow she would face the future, but this hour, she wasn't going to allow herself to think about anything but his kisses and lovemaking. She had never felt so complete, so happy in her life. It was a scary thing to know it could all be taken away from her in the wink of an eye, like it had been when he had left her in the DR.

"I don't ever want you to leave me again," she let out as an echo of her thoughts, her voice thick with emotion.

Dom's mouth was dusting the sensitive skin at her forehead when her pleading words reached his ears. Those words that went right through him and touched his heart, his very soul, ringing within, loud and clear. It was especially the way she said them that made his heart feel heavy. What was he supposed to tell her? That he never would? He really didn't want to leave her side ever again, but he had to. He had to, because that woman was threatening to kill their son if he didn't work for her, and no matter how much he loved Letty, he couldn't let that happen.

If he had had any doubt before, he knew now how heartbreaking it would be for his wife to see him go down that road where she couldn't follow him. He wanted so much to tell her that he was forced to do it, forced by that elusive—that evil—woman, and even more so by his love for the child Letty had given birth to ten years ago, but he couldn't. He couldn't tell her _anything_ , because talking about it meant putting their son at risk. And so a small tear was the only thing speaking of how excruciating it was for him to lie to the one person in this world that deserved to know the truth more than anyone else.

Letty felt his tear as it slipped from Dom's cheek onto her skin and so she grabbed him by the neck and pulled his face away from hers to look into his eyes. Reaching up, she brushed another tear off his cheek with the edge of her palm and smiled. Although she was surprised to see him so emotional, she didn't try to make sense of it. Not like before. She knew it didn't matter as long as his tears didn't mean he was sad—and once she smiled at him, he didn't seem sad at all. He seemed overwhelmed, like there was a storm of emotions raging inside him. She tried to calm it by putting both hands on either side of his face, stroking it gently with her fingers.

"I love you," she declared, her voice scarcely audible, and it only made more tears fall from Dom's eyes.

He loved her so much, and having to break her heart—the heart he owned and was meant to protect—was the cruelest thing he had ever had to do. When he had left her in the DR, he had thought it would be for the best. He had known it would hurt her, but he had thought she'd get through it. He had thought he was doing the right thing. What he was going to do now was different. He knew it was absolutely wrong to put her through all the pain and he was sure that no matter how strong Letty seemed, if this ended badly, she would be forever broken. His betrayal would crush her to the core. And even if it ended well, he might have scared her for life and caused her wounds that would never heal.

Dom slowly lowered his mouth to hers, touching her slightly parted lips in a gentle kiss. If he had to do this, not knowing how it would end, at least he wanted to make love to her one last time. So he crawled back down her body, taking the sheets along with him as he did, grasped her panties and pulled them down her legs. Dom sucked in a breath at how beautiful, how utterly sexy she was, and stole a glance at her face. His gaze was on her mouth then and Letty heard him groan when she licked across her bottom lip in reaction.

Smirking, she touched herself—with him watching. She touched her breasts and massaged them briefly before she moved her hand lower. She stared at her husband as he watched her, watched her fingers as they found her center, touching the sensitive spot. His chest heaved in deep pants for breath. Letty noticed the bulge in his shorts. Yes, she was achieving the desired results. And as if the day wasn't hot enough already, she felt herself truly on fire now. The fire burned from her mind, burned up across her thighs and met at the core of her groin.

When she touched herself where he had touched her so many times, his control snapped. But instead of reaching for Letty, he reached for his shirt and pulled it quickly over his head. Dom's shorts went next, shucked down his legs along with his boxers. He grabbed her wrist and pulled Letty's hand away from her body, then lowered his head to her sex and started feasting on it like a starving man—and he knew exactly when to go hard and fast and when to back off and soothe her with gentle licks.

Letty's heart pounded hard as she watched him make love to her body with his talented tongue. She dug her nails into the mattress with one hand, palmed his motioning head with the other and pressed his face harder against her. Her brain was completely fogged by ecstasy; the only thought resounding inside her was _More_. She closed her eyes, lolling her head back. Her moans slowly started to build up, growing louder and louder with each stroke of Dom's tongue at her core.

"Don't stop," she implored, "Please don't stop," and Dom released a low chuckle.

Small whimpers and cries filled the room and bounced back at him, as he continued to give her pleasure with his mouth. Grabbing her hips, he held her as still as he could. She thrashed in his hold but didn't try to shake him off. Letty's breathing became ragged, and as she neared an orgasm, she pushed down his head but Dom refused to let go. Her legs quaked around him. She cried out and he rode the waves with her, not letting up until the quivers turned to trembles, to a tiny whimper of pleasure as his name fell from her lips.

"Oh, God, I need you," she pleaded, her voice sounding drugged, as she tried to grab a hold of him to pull him up. Bringing his head from between Letty's damp thighs and sliding up her body to capture her face, Dom followed her guidance.

"I can see that," he smirked, as he kissed her lips, his tongue entering her mouth to give her a taste of her own juices. Lust shot up his spine like a flame up a fuse when Letty begged him to fuck her and arched her lower body against him, her needs spinning to desperation.

She cupped his arse as he ground into her. Her thighs welcomed him and Dom eased between them, sinking in close to her. His cock was rubbing her deeply, making Letty go crazy, before it even invaded her moist canal. He slid into her gently, wiping out all thoughts of anything but the two of them. Like a man dying of thirst, he drank her in—every little thing about her and the way they made love—because he knew he would never get to do this again, if Letty wouldn't forgive him for what he had to do. So he made sure to savor this moment of true bliss like never before.

Her eyes were closed and she had a soft smile on her face, as Dom watched her. He couldn't take his eyes off her as he made love to her, listening to her whisper his name over and over. He bit down on his lip as he witnessed the tiny smile turn to a look of total satisfaction right before a sweet sound came from her lips in a strangled cry, her inner walls clenching around him. Letty's moans slowly dropped to soft murmurs as her tide ended and his began.

Seeing her come, hearing it, Dom could no longer resist the orgasm that rushed through him and left him dizzy from the intensity. Wave after wave tore through him like a hurricane—it felt to last forever—until he was wrung dry. Collapsing onto her, damp, overheated, gasping, his muscles twitching all over, they lay together in silence for a long while, their minds still sluggish with a surfeit of passion. The sounds of their breathing became calmer and quieter as the minutes passed.

When Dom's heart slowed down to normal and his breathing evened out, he looked back at her as she lay beneath him. He let his gaze take in the smooth skin of her face, broken only by the unnaturally rosy flush of her cheeks. He never got tired of seeing her blush when he looked at her like that—like she was the most beautiful woman in the world or some rare, exotic gem he had been fortunate enough to discover. He loved to be the one who could bring out her girly side that she had learned to hide to fit into the racing world. She had a lot of tomboy in her, but to him she would always be a girly girl at heart. Dom caught her lips in a kiss and Letty responded with a desperate sort of passion—as if she feared this might be the last time she ever got the chance.

"I hope you know... Letty," he murmured in-between kisses, "that if you don't stop" —kisses that set his skin on fire— "I'm going to get excited again" —and made his head spin.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." The laugh bubbled up and spilled out of her mouth and she reached up to touch his cheek. He laughed too but as soon as he felt Letty's hand at his face, he fell silent and nestled his cheek deeper into her touch while he closed his eyes for a moment.

"Aren't you hungry?" he asked with a soft voice, staring at her again. "I made you breakfast."

"I am, but I think I'm gonna take a shower first. Be back in a sec so don't go anywhere, okay?" Letty's thumb grazed his skin and brushed over his lower lip, as he nodded. "Good." Her thoughts made the corners of her mouth move into a wide grin. "Cos you know, papi... I'm not done with you yet."

"Oh, you're not?" he chuckled and she shook her head lightly.

Letty pressed her lips to his, kissing him long and deeply. "I love you," she said in hushed tones, smiling at him again. "And I love this life, too." She looked at Dom, her eyes filled with years of emotion. "I can't believe we're living it." Her voice broke a little. " _Finally_." She pulled him close for another sweet kiss and then started to giggle softly against his mouth.

"What?" Dom asked, smirking.

"I feel like a little school girl," she said, taking a few strands of her hair between her fingers to cover her face.

"You act like one, too," he chuckled loudly, tugging at her hair. "No need to hide it. C'mon, lemme see!"

"You're an idiot, Dom," she laughed and started hitting his hand gently so he would stop pulling at her hair. "Get your hands off me."

"Are you sure?" he sang the words, cupping one of her breasts with his hand, as he lowered the other one to let it rest between her thighs.

The second Dom's hands touched her intimately again, his fingers working magic on her very center, she gasped sharply, arching her lower body against his hand. With agonizing slowness, he started to make circular movements against her, then slid one finger inside and took his other hand away from her breast to wrap it around himself. Grunting with pleasure as he made contact with his own sensitive spot, he tried to do both—pleasing her as well as himself. He didn't notice the look in Letty's eyes, how she was mesmerized by the sight of him holding his thick shaft.

Jealous of his hand being where hers longed to be, Letty reached out and knocked his hand away and Dom laughed. "Mine," she protested, trailing the long, hard length of his erection. She curved her fingers slowly around it, heard the sharp intake of his breath as she held it firmly in her hand and began stroking it. Letty loved the sound of his moans, the way his shaft grew even harder. But the more he enjoyed her hands, the more Dom seemed to forget that he himself had a job to do.

"No one said you could stop," Letty's voice tingled with laughter when he stopped moving his slick finger in and out of her wet folds. "But just today," she added, "because you made me breakfast," she pushed him onto his back, "I'm gonna let it slide and give you what you need. How does that sound?"

"Perfect," he growled, feasting his eyes upon her nakedness, his mind already consumed by desire.

"I knew you were gonna say that," she grinned, as she lowered herself to meet his crotch. Letty swirled her tongue around the head, got him skip a beat.

"Baby, you're killing me," he moaned, taking a sharp breath.

"Not yet, but I will," she purred.

She took him fully in and closed her lips around his manhood, working her mouth around it until his toes began to curl. Dom's scent and his flavor urged her on and she spent long minutes enjoying giving him pleasure. The heat of her mouth was incredible and he leaned his head back, breathing as hard and fast as a man who had just run a race, threading his hands through her hair. Before long he came hard and fast and Letty exposed a sinful smile, as she slowly licked his milky release from her lips.

She crawled up his body, as he lay there, the aftershocks of his climax rocking through him, and put her lips to his mouth. "We should get back to this after I had something to eat," she proposed, her teeth gently nibbling his lower lip. "Like an _actual_ meal." Her head went down to his chest, her whole body shook with laughter. So did Dom's.

He threw his arms around her and held her tight, their naked bodies pressed together. He nuzzled his head into her hair, breathing in her scent, a contented sigh got lost in her thick tresses. He didn't want to let her go. He didn't want to let go of this moment. Not now, not ever. But Dom knew he had to and soon everything between them would be different, everything would change. When Letty moved, he tried to pull her close to him again, but eventually he loosened his grip, allowing her to get off of him and out of bed.

"First shower, then food," she told him, eyeing the tray on the nightstand before looking back at him, as she smirked, "And then more sex."

"Letty, wait," he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back towards him. She stared at him with caring eyes, her lips smiling widely, as she waited for a response. Dom sat up straight with his feet touching the ground and Letty stepped into the small place between his legs, as if something had pushed her there. "I love this life, too," he said in a voice so sweetly it melted Letty's heart. He reached up a hand to her cheek, stroking it softly, and he had to fight tears, as he thought about the things he would have to do to her, the pain he would cause her. "I wouldn't trade it for anything," he added, circling his fingers around her wrist. "And I love you. Please don't ever doubt that." His voice cracked with emotion. He hated it, knowing she would pick up on that.

"What's wrong with you?" The arch of her eyebrow drew his attention to the confusion—suspicion—in her eyes. She didn't want to be worried or suspicious about his behavior in any way, but the fact that he was suddenly acting weird again made it difficult for her not to be.

"It's nothing," Dom attempted to convince her everything was okay. "I just—I know I do stupid things sometimes and I just don't want you to feel like—"

"Are you planning to do another stupid thing?" she interrupted him.

"No," his voice was louder than he had intended it to be, emphasizing the fact that he was scared shitless to be caught lying. Thankfully, Letty had no idea. She just laughed out her surprise about his emotionally strong reaction.

"Well, why should I ever doubt it then?" she chirped, kissing him on the top of his head—twice—before she bent down and placed a kiss on his lips, cupping his face with her hands. "That breakfast looks delicious. Thank you, baby." She smiled and he smiled back at her, and when she left to go to the bathroom, he followed her with his gaze, a single tear rolling down his cheek, reminding him of his pain.

The bliss of their love-making had momentarily trumped his troubled mind, but as soon as she was gone and he was alone again, heaviness and sorrow centered in his chest. Dom rubbed the area mirthlessly and sighed, then reached for the phone in his pocket. Pressing play on the live stream, he watched his son as he lay in bed—still—with his head turned to the side. Dom felt his anxiety grow, a lump in his throat blocked his breathing when he thought about his options and realized that there was nothing he could do to escape his fate.

Yet the fact that he had no choice but to accept his fate didn't mean he couldn't tempt it a little. There was the uneasy feeling gnawing at his gut that he could end up alone, maybe even dead, after this secret mission, and Dom didn't want _her_ to be alone. If he really had to give his life for his son to keep him save, he had to find a way to ler her know where their child was before it all ended badly. Letty needed to know exactly where their son was held captive, just in case he didn't make it out alive. He needed to be sure that if something happened to him, something terrible, their little racer would still be rescued.

Dom rubbed his face and eyes for what seemed to be an eternity and exhaled. How could he leave her a message without risking their son's life? That woman had explicitly told him not to mention it to anyone and he was certain there wouldn't be a _second_ she would let him out of sight. He would always be watched, like a prisoner, because whatever he did was important to her. She had a plan and she needed him to execute it, so there was no way he would get to send Letty a message. As long as that woman had that much power over him, he was helpless. He had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. He was on his own. Alone.

Frustrated, Dom rose to his feet and gathered his clothes to dress himself. When the cross dangled from his neck as he bent down, a thought suddenly crossed his mind that put all his actions to a halt. He stared at the necklace, wrapped his fingers around it and frowned. This was it. Maybe it wouldn't work out, but it was definitely worth a try. He had spent more than enough time around people like Tej and Ramsey to know what to do, he just needed a device and some tools to attach it to the cross—and he knew exactly where to get these things.

A tracking device was the best way to disclose his son's whereabouts without it being too risky. The only problem he still had was how to get the locator of that device to Letty. If he had any knowledge of where he would have to go or what he'd have to do, he could easily set this up, but since he didn't, he had to wait. He had to wait and hope that somehow, somewhere, there'd be a chance to give it to her or place it somewhere he knew she would find it. It was all the hope Dom had left right now. He needed to make this work and he needed to work fast. Who knew how much time he had left until he had to go rogue.

"Letty? I'm going out," he yelled, but decided to tell it to her face when she didn't respond. As he opened the door to the bathroom, the water was still running. "Baby, I'm sorry, but I forgot to get—I'll be back in a few minutes, alright?"

Letty's head poked out from behind the shower curtain. "You're leaving me _again_? What the hell did I do to deserve that?" she emitted a laugh.

"Nothing, baby," he said, dropping a hot smooch to her mouth. "You're perfect. I'm an idiot. But I swear I'll make it up to you." Dom's thumb glided across her cheek, sending shivers down her spine.

"You sure you don't wanna get in?" Letty tugged at his shirt a little.

"God, Letty," he groaned, "It's not like I don't want to, but right now I need to—"

"Go," Letty chuckled, stroking one side of Dom's face with the palm of her hand. "I'll be fine... as long as you come back." Water dripped from her forehead to her eyes, blurring her view.

Dom cupped her face and kissed her lips softly. She looked so cute, so adorable. Her body wet, her hair a mess, her lips smiling. He wished he could hold on to that vision of her forever. "You're wifey material all the way and I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner," he whispered.

"Oh, please," she scoffed teasingly. "Remember what we talked about? You didn't even realize I was _girlfriend_ material until, like, after I grew a pair of these." Letting both hot palms rest on her boobs, Letty pushed them together, jiggling them while she kept her gaze fixated on him. His eyes were staring right at her, at _them_. She noticed that with a smirk. "You haven't changed one bit. They still have that same effect on you, huh?"

Dom raised his gaze to her face, smirking back at her. "I'm just a man in love with a beautiful woman... and she happens to have an _insane_ body." Her body was quite a good distraction for his mind, actually.

"Go," Letty laughed softly, gently pushing him away from her. Dom was being such a dork. Dorky and cheesy. She loved it. She loved every single part of it. He made her happy. So happy. She hadn't been this happy in a long, long time.

"I'll always come back to you," he promised her, his voice dropping. The deep sound was her favorite. So incredibly sexy, so captivating.

"I know," she smiled, as she pecked his lips. "I love you, too."

* * *

When he got back from the store, Letty was gone. He freaked for a second, worried that blonde woman had come back to stir up some more drama, but the place looked fine, not like it had been raided, and everything was exactly where he had last seen it. Letty had eaten all of her breakfast and even cared to clean up the mess he had made in the kitchen. It didn't look like he had to worry about anything. He really only needed to worry about that thing that occupied his mind ever since he had stopped using his wife as a distraction; the thing that he wished he could make go away. It made him feel terrible.

Dom sat down at the coffee table and took a quick look at the phone. He had about half an hour until the call that could—would—change his life forever. _Their_ lives. Because no matter how much he wished for her not to be a part of this, he knew life would never be the same again for Letty, too. The life that she loved so much would be taken from her. _He_ would be the one to turn her life upside down and take everything from her until she would not even recognize that life anymore. The pain in Dom's chest tightened as he thought of that. He already felt like a monster, the cruelest person on earth. But it was her—that woman who made him do all this.

Setting up the cross necklace with a tracking device mostly needed a bit of soldering and screwing. He had no intention in preparing the perfect GPS-tracker, it just needed to do its job properly. He couldn't risk encountering any technical difficulties. It needed to _work_. There was no room for failures. This thing was supposed to help him, help Letty—or anyone else for that matter—save his son and rescue him from that insane woman he didn't even have a name of. He hated her, whatever her name was. Dom hated that she had so much power over him.

Every now and then, as he worked on that tracking device, he stole a glance at the screen, looking at his son. His main focused remained on the necklace, though. Time passed, minutes after minutes, and when a phone rang, Dom felt his stomach drop. He didn't know the ring tone—knew it wasn't his own phone—so it could only be hers. He let it ring for a few moments, then picked up, and his voice was calm, as he told her, "I'm gonna do it. I'll work for you."

"I knew you'd do the right thing, Dom," she answered. He couldn't see it, but he was almost certain that she had the same evil grin on her face he had gotten to witness earlier. "So, in a few minutes, your friend Hobbs is gonna call, asking you to join him in Berlin, and I know you want nothing more than to tell him that you won't interrupt your precious honeymoon for a job, not even for family, but you'll do exactly that. You will go to Germany and work with your team, and you are gonna steal something from them."

"How do you know about Hobbs?" Dom rubbed his eyes. Should he even bother to ask? That woman probably knew his birth weight, if he dared to ask.

"Steal that EMP, Dom. I don't care how you do it, but you're gonna find a way to deliver it to me or I will let your son know daddy failed." She paused, like she was expecting him to say something, but he kept silent. "I call you on your phone with further instructions when you're done. Do you understand?" She was explicitly asking a question now, not letting him give her that silent treatment much longer.

"I understand," he answered.

"Good," she chirped. "Make sure to get rid of the phone in your hands and... See you soon, Dom."

"I can't _wait_ ," he remarked jadedly.

"Oh, trying to be funny now, are we?" Her laugh penetrated his ear drum. "Sweet."

The second she hung up on him, Dom threw the phone to the floor. Landing hard, the screen cracked, and he made sure to put his foot down on it with all his weight to destroy it completely. Dom yelled out in frustration, tears pooling in his eyes, and he didn't know if he was crying because he was sad or because he was angry. He tried to calm down, but the more he thought about it the harder it was. He knew he had to, though, because once Letty would be back, she would notice immediately that something was seriously wrong with him. He could barely hide his emotions from her.

It took him another few minutes until his breathing became normal again and he sat back in the chair to continue working on the necklace. When he finally got the call from Hobbs, he didn't hesitate to offer his support. Dom was glad his friend didn't question his willingness to interrupt his honeymoon without so much as a thought. Hobbs just thanked him, knowing full well he asked a lot of his brother. Once that phone call had ended, he finished attaching the tracker to the cross. After he was done, he clasped the necklace around his neck and left the apartment to throw everything he had used in the trash outside—including the broken phone—so Letty wouldn't stumble across it and asked questions. That's when he bumped into her, as she approached him in the alley, with a small sized cardboard box under her arm and a huge smile on her face.

"What you're doing out here?" she wondered, her surprise obvious.

"I was looking for you. Where were you?"

"I left a note." She studied his face. Something in his expression had changed since the last time she had seen him. Whatever he had done in her absence had definitely left its mark on him and she seriously started to worry now considering how often she had been struck by his sudden mood swings today. "You didn't read it, did you?" she assumed. "How is it that you never do?" She pinched him in the side and he winced. "I had to get a few of these." Putting the box down, she took out two cars manufactured using aluminum cans of beverages. "Now, _that's_ recycling," she chuckled. "Some kids were playing with them down the street. Look at them. They're sick! I thought Jack might like one." Dom looked at the handmade craft in her hands and smiled. "So, you like 'em?"

He nodded, as he took one from her to inspect it. "I'm sure he'll love it."

"I won the _lottery_ with this," she burst out, bumping his shoulder with her fist. "And here we have it, ladies and gentleman… Best auntie awards goes to Letty Ortiz."

"Toretto."

"What?"

"You said—"

"Oh, your name… Right." A wide grin spread across her face and Dom grinned at her foolish behavior. "Old habits, I'm sorry." She apologized with a small kiss. "Why were you looking for me?"

"It's Hobbs. He needs our help." Dom put the toy back in the box, lifted it from the ground and started walking. Letty followed him. "We have to catch the first flight to Berlin. I'll tell you everything you wanna know on the plane, but we don't have much time, cos—"

"Do we really have to leave?" she cut him off, sighing.

"I'm sorry, Letty." She had no idea how extremely sorry he was to know that once they got to their destination he would have to turn his back on her. "I really don't wanna leave this place, but I kinda promised Hobbs we'd come."

"I hate that you're _such_ a Samaritan sometimes," she snarled, pushing the door to their apartment open. She ranted in Spanish for a minute, cursing him, cursing Hobbs, cursing life in general, before she came to stand in front of him, her eyes settling on his face, looking into his. "Okay, I'm ready," she said, her lips gradually curled up into a sweet smile. "Just one question… Are we only postponing our honeymoon or is this really the end of it?"

Dom wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. She leaned her head against his chest and felt him kiss her head. They stood for a moment in silence before he brought his hands up to her face and cupped her cheeks as he aimed her face up to his. Letty looked into his eyes with a seriousness that almost scared him. Knowing the pain he would cause her broke his heart already. He couldn't imagine seeing that pain in her eyes if they were to cross paths later on after he had turned against his family—which he was sure would happen. He was looking at her now while her heart was pure and happy, but soon it would be poisoned with doubts, sad and broken into pieces. He would rip it out of our chest while it was still beating. So, the question she should _really_ ask was if this was the end of their _relationship_.

"Is it?" she queried when he didn't say anything.

Dom sunk his teeth into his bottom lip, hoping it would be easier for him that way to keep the tears from falling. There was a storm brewing inside him that he certainly didn't want her to be around when it was unleashed. It made him feel like he couldn't breathe. He buried his true feelings deep within himself—something he had promised himself to never do. He had promised himself to never lie to her about anything ever again. Everything he felt, he wanted her to know. But this time, he couldn't let her in on his true thoughts and feelings. He just couldn't. He closed his eyes, but his tears forced their way past his eyelids. Tears of shame. Hurt. Anger. Love. Every emotion he was capable of, every emotion he had right now, came to fruition in those tears streaming down his face and wetting his skin.

"Dom, you're scaring me," Letty watched in fright as he cried silently. "Please just tell me what's wrong," she pleaded with him to let her inside his head, inside his _heart_.

Slowly, Dom opened his eyes. He gazed at her, hating himself for the fact he hadn't managed to keep it together for a few more hours, another day. He forced a smile, tried to make it look as honest—as convincing—as he could. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Just tell me," she demanded, more serious this time.

 _An excuse_. He needed to find an excuse for his behavior and he needed to make it sound as though he meant it. "I was just thinking of how lucky I am to even be on a honeymoon with you," that wasn't even a lie, "after everything that happened."

"And you sure that's all?" she frowned, and Dom nodded his head lightly. She didn't buy it, but she didn't want to argue or fight with him either. Eventually, she would find out what was really going on inside his head, because she always did. He hadn't mastered the art of lying about his feelings to her or keeping secrets from her. He always cracked, telling her the truth, if she just kept digging long enough.

"You just make me happy is all."

"So _I'm_ to blame for your tears?" A smile got hold of her lips. _Like I'll be for yours_ , he thought, fighting the sadness before it could capture his eyes. "That's sweet," she said, smiling more, "or cheesy, I don't know."

"This isn't the end of our honeymoon," he told her, finally answering her question, and pulled Letty close again. Dom felt her tightening her grip around him and he rested his chin on her head, in- and exhaling deeply. And it certainly wasn't the end of _them_ , as he told to himself.


	4. Nice To Meet You

_**A/N:** I edited the phone call in the last chapter, so Tej's comment about Dom's phone records makes more sense thus don't be confused if parts of it seem familiar. I try to include as much of the original dialogue as I can and also some of the lines only used in promos. Let me know what you think of the kid... It's honestly a little difficult to write him, but I hope I get better at it along the way.  
_

* * *

"You good?" She looked at him, he looked back at her, and the way he did made her feel uneasy. He bit his bottom lip, his face was tensed and that was often a sign that he felt very uncomfortable.

He had acted weird all day, barely said two words to her. The same thing she had experienced on the plane. Except for telling her about this job, he hadn't focused much on spending a few more moments with her—alone. Dom seemed off in his own small world and didn't give her or anyone else from the family the attention he usually did. His isolation was reinforced by the look he wore on his face ever since they had gotten to Germany. There was always something dark in his eyes and it scared her not to know what was going on in his mind. Even now that he stared right at her, he had nothing in common with the man she had been with in Cuba.

"I'll see you when it's done," Dom said to her and she frowned.

She turned her face away, but had to look at him again. He really didn't seem like himself anymore and it seriously made her worry. They parted ways and Letty caught another glimpse of him in the rear view mirror. She promised herself, once they were back at the safe house, she would nail his ass to a chair and talked insistently to him until he unburdened himself to her. It hadn't worked earlier—she had begged him to tell her what was going on—but Letty was beyond the point of asking nice. His weird behavior scared her way too much now. She needed to know why the hell he was acting like that, and she thought she deserved to know, because she was his _wife_ after all. She deserved to be treated with that kind of respect. She wanted him to be honest, and whatever it was that he had to deal with, she was ready to fight with him, fight by his side. But just minutes later, Letty heard Hobbs on the walkie-talkie.

"That sumbitch just crossed us."

"What?" She knew right away that this 'sumbitch' was Dom, because apart from the fact the two men had been riding together, there was just someting in Hobbs' voice that told her he was referring to her husband. And Letty couldn't believe her ears, couldn't believe that Dom had done such thing, though it was only a confirmation of what she had felt all along—something was seriously wrong about his behavior.

"Wait a second," Tej spoke, "what are you talking about?"

"Dom took the EMP." Hobbs had a hard time believing it himself, but Dom's violent actions left no doubt that he wasn't playing any games.

"Bullshit," Roman said out loud what anyone else thought—it couldn't be! Dom would never do that, would never turn his back on family, but Hobbs didn't sound like he was joking. He sounded goddamn serious.

"Where are you?" Letty asked. She wanted to find him, find Dom and talk to him. And she wanted to see Hobbs, see with her own two eyes what her husband had done.

"It's too late for me," Hobbs came to realize quickly. "Get outta here." He had to think of his team first. "Saw that look in his eye. I've seen that look before." He had been an agent long enough to know how to read people and Dom had been like an open book to him. "Dominic Toretto... just went rogue." Saying it out loud surely didn't help anyone to fully understand what had just happened, but he needed to say it. He wanted Letty to understand that there wasn't anything she could do right now. Dom was gone.

Letty didn't understand any of it, but she knew she had to head back to their base if she didn't want to end up in jail. She couldn't find Dom if she was locked behind bars, and she just absolutely had to find him. He owed her an explanation. More than anything, however, he owed her an apology. He was putting her through hell right now, because she didn't know how to feel or what to think and for that reason alone she wanted him to tell her he was sorry. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to be treated by him that way—like crap—not after everything they had been through.

* * *

"I got the EMP. What's next?" Dom asked the person that made him do all this.

He tried hard not to let the emotion capture his voice, but just thinking of Letty's face when she heard of his betrayal made tears pool in his eyes. Guilt lay heavy at his heart. He kept praying that Letty would be able to forgive him, but he had hurt her so many times, unwittingly, he was starting to doubt that she ever would—could. He was meant to be with his wife, not turn against her. He was meant to make Letty smile, not cry. He was meant to protect her heart, not break it. If she would not be able to forgive him, Dom couldn't blame her. He knew she hated nothing more than being lied to, and he had just betrayed her. And everything he believed in.

"There's an airbase not too far from your location," the woman said to him. "Look at your GPS." Dom did and noticed then, she had already hacked into it. "I will pick you up with a plane, but you have to get into the back of the it, 'cause I'm not planning on landing that thing. When you're in, come to the tech room. I got some happy news for you." Dom didn't like the sound of her voice. She was playing with him like a child played with a toy. It was obvious. "You see, there's another thing I really need from your team. Remember God's Eye? Well, Dom... Here's the good news... It won't be long until you find out how your family is handling your betrayal." She laughed and it was the same kind of evil laugh she had let him hear the first time they had met. Then she hung up on him without saying another word.

Dom fixed his eyes ahead, driving into the direction the GPS gave him. He could hear the sound of sirens behind him. Cops were following him, many of them, and he knew Letty had learned by now that he had turned his back on them. He felt such heaviness in his heart he wanted to scream. He tried to focus his mind on their son, but it didn't help his conscience. Then his phone rang and he saw that it was she. Instant tears shot out of Dom's eyes. He let it ring, but she didn't stop calling him. Once she ended the call, she called again. Over and over again Letty tried getting a hold of him and he just stared at the screen like he was expecting her to stop.

"Please, Let..." he said to himself, fearing he might not be able to resist that urge to pick up that phone and explain everything to her any longer. He didn't want her to, but he _needed_ her to give up.

When it finally stopped ringing, he felt relief. It lasted for only a second and then turned back to that heavy feeling of guilt again. Dom tried to block it out, focusing on the other dark feelings inside of him—those of anger and hate. To his surprise, it worked. The closer he got to the location the darker his expression became, and when he drove his car into the aircraft belly, he didn't look like the man who had been crying only a few minutes ago. He looked like a man who had come to do a job. He looked like a man willing to make sacrifices, though turning his back on the woman he loved—the woman he had married—was the greatest sacrifice he could have ever made to save his son.

* * *

"He's not picking up. Why isn't he answering his goddamn phone?" Letty screamed, tossing it aside.

She still didn't understand any of this. Hobbs had told them what Dom had done, but she hadn't believed him—not until she had tried calling her husband. The fact that she couldn't get a hold of him made her freak out, even though she kept telling herself over and over again that Dom had a good reason to do this. She didn't want to doubt him. She didn't want to seriously believe that he could do this to his family—to _her_. He had promised her only a day ago that he would always be there for her, so where was he now? Now that she needed him? Had he left a note? Anything? All she wanted was a little something to let her know that all of this was nothing but a stupid misunderstanding.

She opened the door of her car and got in, leaning her head against the headrest. In- and exhaling deeply, Letty closed her eyes. "Please, let me know you're still with me," she whispered to herself, a single tear slipping out of her eye. She sighed and ran a hand over her face. Dom could make life so hard on her. She should've never let a man have that much power over her. It just wasn't fair. All she had ever done was love him and he kept on doing things to her that hurt her, disappointed her. Their marriage wasn't supposed to be like this. She wanted to believe in him and trust him, but Dom sure knew how to make that difficult. If there was an explanation for this, she needed to know now, because not knowing broke her heart slowly, like tiny hammers hitting on a sheet of glass. She could almost hear the sound of her heart cracking—piece by piece, one after another.

Letty opened the glove department and looked for something. She had no idea what she was looking for—a hint maybe as to his whereabouts or why Dom had stolen that EMP. Her fingers searched through the glove box in a rush and then two pictures fell into her hands, two pictures of Dom and her. Slowly, she took them out and looked at them, her heart hurting, her eyes wanting to cry. The man she was staring at was not the man who would turn his back on his family for no reason. Dom had to have a reason to do this, Letty was dead certain, but believing that didn't make his betrayal hurt any less. As her husband, he should've trusted her, should've confined in her. This was all she could think about—why hadn't he said anything to her. As if she didn't matter enough for him to give her a second thought.

"Alright," she heard Tej's voice in the background, "I got his phone records, y'all. It's a whole bunch of calls to untraceable numbers."

Then Roman said, "Burner phone, right?" and Tej denied it.

"Nah, scrambled. Same number but they got some sort of micro-router to bury the signal path," he explained and went on to say, "which means Dom is clearly communicating with somebody that's above our pay grade."

Letty kept staring at the pictures, but she heard everything that was being said. Why would he do this? Why would he act like he was on some sort of secret mission and not tell her about any of this? She had so many questions, but the only one who could answer them wasn't there and she didn't even have a clue where he was. No one did. She couldn't talk to Hobbs. He was in prison. All she could do was to sit around and wonder what had gone wrong in her marriage—again. She had been in this situation before, a few years ago when Dom had left her in the Dominican Republic. This wasn't a place where she wanted to be, not a place she wanted to go back to.

"Look, I don't know Dom as well as you, but..." Ramsey sighed, "if we just look at the facts," and those were undeniably hard to stomach for everyone, "Dom's been having highly encrypted conversations with some mysterious person. He took out Hobbs. He stole an EMP. Now he's disappeared..."

"So what are you saying?" Tej wondered.

Ramsey didn't know how to say it, but felt like someone just had to, because they couldn't ignore the signs anymore. "Maybe we should consider the fact that... Hobbs is right." There was sadness in her voice. "Dom did go rogue."

The noise of someone slamming a door cut through the silence that had settled soon after Ramsey's statement. Letty was furious. It didn't matter what he had done, Dom was still one of them. That person Ramsey was talking about was her _husband_. Letty _loved_ him. And no matter what had happened earlier, even if he had gone rogue, she knew he still loved _her_. Ramsey had no right to talk bad about him, not after everything he had done for her. So she walked straight up to her, ready to fight her—verbally—and her face was passionate with anger. So much so that Roman felt the need to stop her.

"Letty," he said her name, worried she would do something she might later regret and she stood still, but it didn't keep her from speaking her mind, defending the one person in the world she knew would always fight for her, too.

"Before you judge the man," Letty felt her voice cracking, "Remember you're breathing right now because he saved your life." Tears burned behind her eyelids. She needed to get out of there, needed to be alone.

Still fuming, she bumped Ramsey's shoulder. Not gently, but hard. Letty wanted her to know that she hadn't taken her comment lightly; that she was seriously pissed off. She didn't even care to look back to see if Ramsey had understood the message as she went upstairs. It didn't matter. She just wanted to get the hell out. Her heart felt so heavy in her chest, like someone was pressing down on it, stopping her from breathing, Letty thought she was going to throw up. It only got worse when she reached the entrance door of the safe house. She started to breathe heavy, as her airways felt constricted. Her body became limp and soon her legs gave way under her and she fell to the floor, her strength gone.

Lying on the ground, she cried for him. She called out his name again and again, her throat raw, already burning from crying. Letty's voice sounded desperate as she called out for Dom. She was hiccoughing and gulping. Heart-wrenching, uncontrollable sobs rocked her body as she gasped for air. Then her cries became quieter until his name was nothing but a whisper anymore. "Dom, please..." Letty cried, "Please just come back to me." Huddling on the floor, she hugged her knees like a lost child. Deep down she knew Dom hadn't actually left her, but it still felt like it. This was exactly like the moment in the DR all over again, except she had known back then why Dom had left her—he had thought it was for the best, thought he was protecting her. This time, she had nothing to go on. No clue. They had been truly happy in Cuba. How could all of that be over now?

* * *

Dom walked right into the room she had ordered him to go to. He didn't know what to expect, but he was determined to talk to her. The room he entered was full of expensive-looking equipment. That woman clearly had a thing for technology. He kept walking, approaching her with determination, but then a guy with red hair and a full beard blocked his way. Dom stared at him, literally checking him out. That guy stood before him, rigidly calm, but with tense features and gleaming eyes, like he was an important part of her team, and Dom guessed that was the man she asked to do the real dirty work. Her henchman.

"Move," Dom said, his voice calm but the menace behind it wound in among the words. He had no time to play games, no interest in talking to anyone but her.

"Say that again."

"If I say it again..." Dom paused in mid sentence and the expression on his face darkened as his skin melted itself to his hard bones. "It'll be to a corpse."

A smirk crept over his opponent's face as he said, "I'm gonna enjoy this," and Dom had no doubt he would. He seemed exactly like the kind of guy who took pleasure in the suffering of others.

"Welcome back, Dom." Her voice fell into the heavy tension like a stone thrown down a deep well. "Nice job out there," she added, walking towards him. "Are you excited about tonight?"

"You're going on this?" the guy cut in and she shot him an evil glare that silenced the entire room. It was slightly intimidating, even Dom had to admit that.

"You're with me Dom," she said, brushing his arm, and he looked at the spot she had touched as though she had done something she shouldn't have. He walked out, feeling the eyes of the redhead piercing him. That's when he knew he would have a hard time getting along with him—not that it mattered. He wasn't there to make friends. He had a job to do.

"You're gonna tell me your name?" he asked, as he followed her, and she laughed, like he had made a joke. It was difficult to fathom the workings of her mind by reading her expression and behavior, but he guessed that it would get easier once he spent more time with her. She told him her name was Cipher and he wondered if that was her real name or only a pseudonym. But Dom had a feeling that asking her about it would be rather pointless, so he just said nothing.

The room they walked into was full of weapons. All kinds of weapons. It had glass cabinets that looked like closets. There were different types of armor inside, boots, helmets and everything else that was needed to fight a war—any war. That armory was definitely impressive, and the fact that Cipher kept all of it behind glass for everyone to see instead of choosing to hide it made him think that she was one of those people who loved showing off. It was her way of making a statement, simply a demonstration of her power. He couldn't help mocking her a little.

"Showing me your shoe collection," he asked, and she casually shrugged off the comment.

"Yup," Cipher said and pulled out a drawer with all kinds of automatic weapons—yet another attempt to demonstrate her power. "A pair for every occasion."

"There's enough guns in here to outfit a small army, huh?" he let out, and there was still a tinge of mockery in his tone.

Cipher disregarded the fact he was trying to get an emotional reaction from her and just told him, as she sat down on a couch, "Oh, this is just the tip of the iceberg."

Of course he knew it was. That plane she had was huge and he had only seen a small part of it. Cipher reminded him a lot of Mister Nobody in that respect. Dom was sure that man had only let them see part of the things he had, or the things he could do, and not everything. And he did seem a bit shady with all this talk about the shadows, but at least he appeared to be one of the good guys. Cipher didn't at all. That dark aura he had felt in Cuba, it was still there, and it made him feel uneasy, even though he didn't let it show.

"You know what I like about you, Dom," she spoke again, "You're a genuine outlaw. I mean you're a man who lives by his own rules." She talked like she knew him. He had a feeling she knew _everything_ about him. "Which is surprising, because when I saw you in Cuba," she said with a chuckle, "I heard about a guy, who almost killed you with a motorcycle and you... let him keep his car?" The way she raised that question, it sounded like she really didn't understand his actions.

"Oh, that confused you?" he said and she let him know it had, yet Dom still wasn't sure, if she was only playing a game with him. "Of course I could've taken his car, but it's about something bigger." The expression on her face was stern, as she stared right at him. "This way," Demonstratively, with a loud noise, he slid the drawer with the automatic guns back into place—his way of making a statement—and continued, "I changed him."

"That's not your responsibility." Her face softened, almost like she was actually being nice.

"That's who I am," Dom stated.

"Is it?" She raised an eyebrow, her tone changing again to that of the bitch she seemed to be. Was she mocking _him_ now? "Let me ask you something Dom, what's the best thing in your life?"

Dom looked down at her. "Family," he answered without hesitation, trying to figure out what she was going for. If she knew all about him, why did she even have to ask that question? Shouldn't she know?

"No, it's not," Cipher commented, and suddenly his face went grim. "Not if you're being honest." Dom frowned, not understanding what she meant. "It's the ten seconds between start and finish," Cipher started explaining, "when you're not thinking about _anything_. No family, no obligations. Just you... Being free."

She paused, and Dom's whole demeanor had grown in severity. He had to turn his face away from her so that she couldn't see how he was slowly beginning to realize the mess he had gotten himself into. This wasn't a game—that much he knew—but that woman was without a doubt evil. Cipher spoke with a voice loaded with condescension and cut off from real feeling. She seemed cold and unpredictable, and he started to worry that she could do anything to hurt Letty or Mia, or anyone else that he loved. But technically, she had already done that the moment she had abducted his son. Dom turned his back to her, as he tried to recreate the mask of stone on his face. He didn't want her to see that she was getting to him, so he swiftly repaired any cracks in his shell.

"I gotta tell you," Cipher stood up. "This whole saving the world, Robin Hood nonsense you've been doing recently... It's bullshit. It's not you." That's when he finally looked at her again, but he couldn't hide the fact that her words were affecting him. She slid another drawer into place, making him focus on the weapons inside. "Be who you are." Her voice was sounding like a command and it sent an icy cold chill down Dom's spine. "Why live only a quarter mile at a time when you can live your _whole_ life that way?"

"Where's my son?" Dom asked in a serious tone, not willing to give her the pleasure of seeing him crack under pressure.

"Speaking of..." Her homely face rearranged itself into an evil smile. "Did you ever think you'd betray your family the way you did today?"

He could see in her eyes how much she enjoyed having that power over him and he hated that she had that. Dom wished there was anything he could do to change it, anything he could do to take that power away from her, but unfortunately, there wasn't. He was completely at her mercy and she knew that. Cipher _loved_ that. He kept thinking about ways to get himself, as well as his son, out of this safely, but he knew Cipher was smart, so whatever he decided to do had to be the best he _could_ do, because there wasn't any room for mistakes. She would make his life a living hell. He had no doubt about it. The cross necklace was probably his only chance.

"I wanna see my son." His demand could very well be a wasted breath, because he certainly wasn't in the position to make any demands, but he needed to try, because knowing the boy he hadn't seen in ten years—his and Letty's kid—could maybe be in the room next door made him go crazy. "I'll do anything you want me to do, Cipher, just please... let me see my baby." The stone mask on his face descended once again with his plead and Dom hated that his voice had betrayed him, as he begged her to give him a moment where he was not going to be tied to her chains. "Please."

"You know," Cipher smirked, "he's not such a baby anymore." She let a minute pass and that minute felt like a lifetime to Dom. "Rhodes," she called, and the guy appeared only seconds later, "take that man to see his child." Rhodes seemed not to like the idea of doing something for Dom that was rewarding. "Give him five minutes alone with the boy and then make sure he says goodbye."

"Got it." Rhodes nodded, looking at Dom briefly, wrinkling his nose in a disapproving manner. Yes, he didn't like the idea at all, Dom thought.

Then, as Rhodes left the room and he followed him, realization hit him that he was going to see his baby; the boy his wife had given birth to when their relationship had only just began. _Letty_. More than ever, Dom wished that things would be different; that she would be there right now to go with him. He didn't want to do this alone, without her. He had no choice but to do so, but if he could trade places with her, he would, because Letty deserved this way more than he did. He had done a lot of messed up things in his life, even hurt the woman he loved, so compared to her, he didn't feel like he was worthy of this moment.

The room he had only seen through a phone screen looked even darker than in that live stream. He couldn't imagine their son being locked up in there for days without sunlight. Dom could only hope that there had been a time where he hadn't been inside this plane. Cipher had never mentioned when she had captured him, how long ago it was, and Dom had never asked, because the idea that their beautiful baby was being held hostage for weeks now was horrifying to him. It made his heart heavy, and weighed him down like a huge burden. The sadness inside him was almost overwhelming. He couldn't stand it. He needed to see how he was doing, if he was okay.

"Five minutes," Rhodes said, as he switched on the lights. The room was lit, but it wasn't bright, and so Dom glowered at him angrily.

"Who the hell keeps a _kid_ locked up in here?" Dom's eyes conveyed fury as his accusing voice stabbed the air. He couldn't believe this was how Cipher treated a child.

"Relax," Rhodes laughed, "He's not afraid of the dark," and walked off.

Turning around, Dom stood right in front of the glass window. His heart started beating faster as he saw a small shadow in the corner of the room. It was slowly moving towards him—Dom's heart nearly burst out of his chest—and then he looked right at him. He stared right into his son's face. Dom clenched his jaw against the churn of emotions inside him. He reminded himself that this was not the right moment to make that boy become suspicious of a stranger's strong reaction and swiftly sucked in his tears, not wanting him to see him cry. Love swelled inside him. It washed through him and drowned the hate he had felt before in it's complete purity.

"Who are you?" his son asked, as he looked up at him with curious eyes. Dom was surprised that he showed no fear or anxiousness. It somehow made him unbelievably proud. Such a brave kid—he truly was his boy.

"I'm your—" _Dad_ is what he wanted to say; what he _couldn't_ say. "I'm here to save you," he let him know, trying to smile at him. It felt like a messed up smile, though. He was way too emotional to act naturally. The only honest thing Dom could do right now was to cry. That was the most genuine kind of emotion he could give that boy right now. But he didn't want to confuse him. "Are you hurt?" he asked, choking. He didn't even want to think about the pain they could've caused him.

The boy shook his head, but after a brief moment nodded weakly. That reaction made Dom more aware of the fact he was actually staring at his own flesh and blood, because that kid obviously didn't want to admit that he was hurt—Oh, how much Dom could relate to that. That little guy was just like his father, _and_ his mother. They had certainly gotten better at accepting their weaknesses, but he and Letty still rather chose to act tough and not admit they were hurting, so it wasn't surprising their son's first instinct had been to deny his pain. From somewhere the signals from Dom's body increased dramatically. He felt his throat tighten, convulse. Cipher had dared to hurt their son and for that she was going to _pay_.

"What's your name?" Dom tried to get the words past his lips without his voice cracking.

"Adan," the boy answered quietly. "Adan Bowen, but I was... adopted, so... I don't know if that's even my real name." Adan rubbed his tired eyes and sighed loudly, looking down. It was obvious he was struggling with knowing the truth. He seemed lost, and Dom felt the urge to tell him he belonged somewhere; that he belonged with him, him and Letty. Their son's voice sounded like a cry as he said, "Can you get me out of here? Please, I'm scared!" He slowly reached out his small hand and touched the glass, looking up at the tall man standing behind it. His body shook with anxiety and his breath came in short gulps.

As Dom saw silent tears stream down his son's cheeks, the way he held out his hand, like he was reaching for him, his dam broke and all walls came crumbling down at the intensity of his feelings. He started crying, wishing he could just take his son into his arms and hold him. He lifted his arm and touched the glass right where Adan's hand was. He chocked back a sob and looked down at his son, into the big brown eyes that reminded him so much of her—Letty. The boy's hair was long and the nose he had was definitely a Toretto nose. Their son was just so very handsome. Dom wished with all of his heart that Letty could be there to see him, see the beautiful being the two of them had created.

Dom closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "It's gonna be okay, Adan," he whispered. "I'm here for you."

The young child sank to the ground and curled up into a fetal position, and his father sat down right next to him with only the glass barrier between them. Dom watched him in silence as his tiny body shook with small sobs. "Listen to me..." His heart was aching so much at seeing his son's pain. "I promise you, I'll keep you safe. I'm gonna get you outta there, okay?" A sob shuddered through Dom. "You just have to promise me to stay strong. Can you do that for me?"

Slowly, his son lifted his eyelids until he could just peek out through the lashes, and Dom smiled through his tears, determined to give him some kind of reassurance that everything would be alright. Adan opened his eyes more and brushed his tears away. One last sob racked his small body, as he sat up, all the while keeping his gaze on Dom. Then he nodded.

"Good," Dom said, still smiling. "I'm Dom, by the way. I'm a huge fan of cars. Do you like cars, Adan?"

For the time he had left, he wanted to get to know him, and he wanted to take his son's mind off of things. The little boy deserved to have at least one moment where he wasn't reminded of his terrible situation. It was bad enough they had to have this conversation through a glass wall; the least he could do for him was to make sure he would enjoy the things they talked about, and since cars always made him feel better, Dom thought he would give it a try—after all, that was his and Letty's son right there, and there was no way in hell he didn't like to talk about cars.

"I love cars," he let out excited, and Dom was happy to see that his plan was already working. Adan's mood had changed in an instant.

Dom chuckled, as he ran his hand over his face, brushing off the last remains of tears. "You know, I got a really awesome car in my garage... How about I'll show it to you once we're home?" He bit down hard on his lip upon realizing that his words had come out a little wrong, so he quickly said something else before his son noticed it. "Have you ever heard of Race Wars?"

Adan nodded. "As soon as I'm old enough, I wanna go there... and I'm gonna win." The way he said it, full of self-confidence—determination—made Dom beam with pride.

"You're a smart kid," he laughed, "You know, it's good to know what you want... to have goals in life."

"I read a lot," Adan told him. "Books and magazines... about cars." Dom couldn't help but wonder, if he had ever read something about _him_. "I know all about them... Everything," Adan mentioned proudly and stuck his chest out like a superhero.

Dom noticed it with a grin. "Then you're just _like_ me," he said, _except for the reading part_ , he added in his mind, and needed to stifle a laugh.

"My dad didn't like cars that much." Adan's voice filled with sadness. "I tried telling him, like, 'Dad, look at how fast they're going, look at that engine,' but he was more into bikes, I think." He sighed. "And my mom... she thought fast cars kill people. Do _you_ think fast cars kill people?" Dom didn't know what to say for a moment, as the fact of him talking about his parents—his adoptive parents—stung his heart a little, but then Adan said his name and he focused his attention on him.

"Do I think fast cars kill people?" he repeated his question first. "Well... I think they absolutely do," there was no need to lie to his child, "but, you know, it's mostly just about who's sitting behind the wheel, because a really good driver knows his car like he knows his friends, and he knows exactly what he's capable of when he's driving... What he can do and shouldn't do when he's driving fast. Do you understand what I mean?"

The child nodded, then pursed his lips and knit his brow as though he were in deep thought. "I got a girlfriend," he started, but Dom broke him off.

"You got a girlfriend? You're just _ten_. Isn't that a little early?" Dom laughed. The more time he spent with him the more he realized that this kid really came a lot after him—though he sure had the beautiful looks of his mother.

Adan giggled, a deep, rolling, belly laugh of pure delight. "No," he put a hand to his lips trying to stop the giggles coming out of his mouth. It was the cutest thing Dom had ever seen or ever listened to. "I don't like girls," Adan giggled.

"So you like boys?" _Because that would be okay, too_ , Dom thought. But of course he was just teasing him. And it worked, because the boy started laughing louder again.

"No," he laughed, as he held his belly in giggle-pain. "She's a girl, but we are just friends."

"Oh, now I see what you mean." A wide grin captured Dom's face. It warmed his heart to see his son actually happy, a deep set of dimples laughing with him. His hair fell over his eyes when he laughed and his mouth opened widely, flashing a gap between his teeth. "So, what did you wanna tell me?" Dom asked, still grinning.

Adan needed another moment to calm down. "She loves cars, too, but I don't think girls should drive fast cars."

Dom chuckled. If Letty knew what her son thought about women and cars, she would be highly offended. Letty had always had to fight for respect more than any guy, having to break down those gender walls all the time when she had just started getting involved in the world of racing. The fact that their son was just as arrogant as every other man Letty had raced against—as macho as his father—was hilarious, and Dom knew once she heard him talk like that she would teach their kid the same lesson she had taught him on what girls could _really_ do behind a wheel. Dom could only hope that he would be there to witness that moment.

"Some girls are really good drivers, Adan. Maybe your friend is too," he said, smiling at his child.

"Whatever... I can still beat her," Adan commented, then looked at Dom for a moment, not saying anything. He really loved talking to him—he was nice—and he didn't want him to leave again. He hated the fact he was all alone. "Are you married?" Adan kept the conversation alive. He noticed how Dom's face lit up, though there had been a hint of sadness in his eyes.

The image of Letty's face had invaded Dom's thoughts again, as he thought of the pain she must be feeling right now. He took a deep breath, but he could feel his throat tighten. "I am," he said, swallowing hard. It was still a bit crazy to him knowing he and Letty were really married. It still felt surreal sometimes. "She's a beautiful woman. She's smart. And I know she doesn't like to hear it, but she's cute too," Dom gushed over her. "I think you would like her."

"Does she like cars?" Adan asked curiously, smiling a little.

"She _loves_ cars," Dom said. "And she is a pretty damn good driver. Better than most guys I know."

"Language, please," Adan giggled, and, for a second, Dom didn't even know what he meant with that.

"I'm sorry," he replied, chuckling. "I'm just not... used to... talking to kids. I mean, I got a nephew, but—"

"I don't have anyone... anymore."

The sadness in his son's voice clutched his heart. Dom sighed deeply. He wanted to reach over, take Adan's chin in his big hand and just comfort his son, but the cold glass between them was an obstacle he couldn't break through. He felt like crying again, but knew he had to be strong for him. Yet Dom's eyes still filled with tears. He hadn't had the strength to fight them. He could only try to blink them back. He truly hated not being able to be there for his child. That boy needed him and he just couldn't reach him. Looking around, Dom tried to find a way to get to him, but there wasn't anything he could do. Cipher had made sure to keep him out.

Dom saw the tears oozing out of Adan's eyes again and he put his hand back on the glass. "Adan..." His voice sounded strained and tight. He was clearly trying to pull himself together. "You got _me_ ," he reassured him once more, and his son looked up to him. He stared at Dom's hand for a moment and then lay his hand against it. "Yeah, that's it, buddy," Dom said quietly, forcing a smile. "Now listen... You and me... we're a team now." He looked right into the boy's teary eyes and had to swallow down the rising emotion. "We're _family_." His voice cracked. "And we never... _ever_... give up on each other... you hear me?" He got a weak nod as a response.

Dom heard a door opening, footsteps behind him, and turned around. He looked straight into Rhodes' face. "No," he let out, getting up from the ground. "No!" This time, Dom's voice was almost a scream. "That wasn't five minutes." With a quick glance to the side, he noticed his son had stopped crying, but Adan looked terrified now—it seemed Dom had found the person who had hurt his son. "I need more time," he pleaded, "please," and stared up into the camera. "Give me more time, Cipher. Just—"

"Good visit?" And there she was—the woman Dom hated more than anything else right now.


	5. Working with the Enemy

_**A/N:** Wow, it's been forever since I updated any of my stories. This isn't much, but I gotta start somewhere if I wanna get over this writer's block... I hope you're still with me and enjoy this story. And I know everyone's kinda waiting for Letty to find out, so I'll try to hurry, haha. To the person asking if there'll be any flashbacks of the time of the pregnancy or after, I definitely wanna try to give you some.  
_

* * *

Dom couldn't hide the anger he felt. It was written all over his face. How dared she keeping his innocent son locked up in a cell? She was a cold-hearted bitch, if she even had a heart, and if it weren't for Adan, he would wring Cipher's neck right on the spot. He wanted to scream at her, stop being in control of himself and his actions and go all Kenny Linder on her, but he knew that wouldn't solve anything. It would only make things worth. Still, if there was _any_ way he could just take out both Rhodes and Cipher and get to those heavy guns she bragged about earlier, he might easily escape this place.

"I know. I know what you're thinking. I just let the guards go, so there are only two opponents in the room," she started talking while she leaned against the glass, "Rhodes has the gun, so you'll take him out first, I know you. And then you're thinking... You have the will, so you'll find a way. And once you've got it, you'll take him out." Cipher looked over to Rhodes, who stood behind Dom, his face rigid. She talked like she was capable of empathy, but Dom knew there wasn't an ounce of truth in the sound of her voice. She was faking it. She didn't care about his feelings. Why would she? After all, it was her who was responsible for his misery.

"Maybe even me," she added. She sounded like she knew Dom could easily overpower her. "And then you're thinking," she continued, "I just showed you my armory, all the things that could protect you… _help_ you… to maybe fight your way out of here." She looked back over at him and Dom saw that she seemed to know he wouldn't dare to give it a try. "So _much_ to _think_ about," she said, closing her eyes. She took a deep, long sigh and walked over to Rhodes, who pulled the gun out of the holster and handed it to her. She took it, "Let me make it easier for you," loaded it, and the clicking-sound made Dom turn around.

He stared down at the weapon in her hands, which she suddenly held up to him. So he looked into her face, trying to anticipate her next move, to scrutinize Cipher's motives, but it was impossible. She was impossible to read. He noticed that Rhodes looked like he couldn't understand what exactly Cipher was doing handing him that gun either. Then again, he had given it to her without asking any questions, so he must have known what she had in mind with it, hadn't he? Dom stared at her in disbelief. He knew she was a manipulative bitch, but what kind of sick game was she playing now?

"Do with it as you wish," she said, obviously wanting him to take it.

So he did, and he did it forcefully, like she hadn't offered it to him but like he was stealing it from her, yet the expression on his face was still blank, confused. He honestly didn't know what to make of it all. He only knew one thing: She wasn't giving the gun to him so he could shoot her. That he was sure of. She wasn't stupid. She wouldn't dare to make herself vulnerable and allow him to have that power over her. She didn't allow _anyone_ to have _any_ power over her. She was always in control, of everything and everyone. Holding that thought, Dom gazed at Adan. His son looked terrified, and if he had any control over the situation, he would get him out of there and make all his bad feelings go away. But he couldn't. He was just Cipher's little puppet. It dawned on him, as he slowly turned around and put the gun right to Cipher's head, when, for a split second, he could see a smirk on her face. She got him exactly where she wanted him—again.

"Have you heard of choice theory Dom? There's a bunch of axioms, but only two you really need to concern yourself with. One, the only person's behavior we can control is our own. And two... the only thing we can truly give another person is information, so let me give you some." Her voice ended on such a note, it sounded like she was about to threaten him. "You see these cameras in here? The moment you make a move, highly paid men with weapons, will make their way into this room with one very _specific_ instruction." She paused, looking dead at him, and there was something in her eyes that told him, she wasn't messing around. This was no game. "It's not to save me. It's to kill your son." Her words made Dom shutter. "Oh, that's a lot of bullets. And it only takes one for you to lose _everything_. So, I have to ask you, because... I know family is _so_ important to you." She stepped forward, pushing her forehead hard against the cold gun barrel. "Is that really a choice you wanna make? Because, I'm ready if you are."

He knew she wasn't willing to die, because she was the type of person, who liked to see people suffer; who would enjoy seeing her men kill his son right in front of his eyes. No, Cipher wouldn't die before she could witness him break under the heavy load of guilt that he was responsible for his son's fate, and even though Dom was certain of that, his finger trembled on the trigger, like it was desperate to make that move Dom knew he would regret.

"If I pull this trigger and God knows I wanna," he spoke, his voice thick, "If I'd kill everyone on this plane," his whole hand was shaking now, "I _still_ couldn't get in there. 'Cause you've a two-man fail-safe system... and since I'm _alone_ ," he screamed right at her face, "I got no choice!" He held the gun to her head just a bit longer and then slowly let his arm sink. Handing the gun back to her was the right thing to do. It was not what he wanted, but it was what he had to do to save his son.

"I didn't think so," she said, taking it out of his hand, averting her face, as she gave the gun back to Rhodes.

When she looked back at Dom, he unclasped the necklace, keeping his eyes on her. His breathing was heavy. His heart was, too. Having to say goodbye to his son, now that he had finally found him, was so hard for him to bear, he could barely look Adan in the eyes when he faced him again. He hung the cross on a piece of metal that was sticking out from the wall and let it dangle in front of the glass pane. Adan put his hands on the wall again, and Dom looked at him, into his tearful eyes, and felt his heart break all over again. It reminded him of the day he was born, when he had to say goodbye.

"I promise... you... we'll see each other again," he told him the same thing he had said to him all those years ago. "I said I'll keep you safe... and I will." Looking back at Cipher, Dom's face was ice cold. "You wanna see the old Dom?" he asked, "Watch!" He walked passed her, out of the room, tears running down his face as he heard his son throwing his small fists against the glass, calling after him, sobbing loudly.

Dom entered the lounge room and sat down, wiping off the tears quickly as he heard Cipher's footsteps coming closer. "You let Rhodes hurt my son and for that," he mumbled, hardening his expression, "I'm gonna make you pay!" He snorted, grabbing her wrist as she walked by. "Don't think for a second, this is over when _you_ say it is. It's not."

"Oh, Dom, this is so far from being over." she laughed. "We're just getting started." Cipher took a seat right in front of him and smirked. "Aren't you _excited_?" She rubbed her hands together in glee. Like an evil scientist, Dom thought; like it felt incredibly good to be bad.

"You said something about God's Eye?" he mentioned, cutting off any emotion in his voice.

"I know where it is and I know how to get there. I have everything I need."

"Why do you need me then?" Dom asked the obvious.

"To make a point," she just stated, as deadpan as always. "Are you ready for that?"

Dom nodded. "Whatever you want me to do," he answered, "I'm ready to move."

Although he knew he would regret it terribly, he had to play along. Do his part to keep his son safe. She had made that absolutely clear. If Letty turned out hating him, then at least she could do that with Adan by her side. She could be reunited with her son, with _their_ son, and that meant more to him than anything else right now, though it was still incredibly hard knowing he would have to hurt her in the process —and when the wicked fairy godmother laid out her plan, Dom realized just _how_ much Letty's heart would be shattered.

* * *

"What the hell does any of this have to do with us?" Letty asked, rolling her eyes. She was tired of all the beating around the bush. She wanted to know _exactly_ why she had been brought to this place when she should be out there looking for Dom instead.

"Probably nothing, Letty," Mr. Nobody said, "but I do find it interesting that, apparently for some reason, she's now working with _this_ guy."

He pushed a button on the remote that controlled the screen they were looking at—and when Dom's photo appeared, Letty froze in complete shock of the revelation. She thought everyone in the room could hear her heart drop, could feel the intense emotion in her chest. She faced Hobbs, the shock visible in her eyes, and he looked at her like he was saying, 'Sorry, I told you so.' "He has already delivered a fully operational EMP into her hands," she heard Little Nobody say, "Detonate that, they can turn any city in the world into a war zone," and she tried fighting the obvious—the truth.

That just couldn't be happening. Why would Dom work with a cyber terrorist? Why would he work with a _terrorist_ and not _tell_ her? Hadn't they once promised each other to always be honest and stop having secrets? Hadn't he promised her to never hurt her again? The most agonizing and painful thoughts about Dom's betrayal stung her heart like tiny pricks of a fine-gauge needle. It wasn't what it looked like, Letty thought to herself, as she tried to encourage the least feeling of hope. It _couldn't_ be. But she felt much more for the situation of her husband turning his back on family.

Too caught up in her emotions, she didn't really pay any attention to the conversation going on around her, but when the door suddenly opened and Deckard Shaw walked in, it was the first time in a while that Letty reacted to her surroundings. She looked at the older Shaw brother with dark eyes. So, that was her life now? Working with the enemy to get her man back? He killed _Han_. How could they all even consider letting him be part of the team? But after only a few minutes it seemed that everyone had somehow forgotten who Shaw was; like they had adopted him into the family. It made her hate him even more. She hated _Dom_ for causing all of this.

"This is wrong," she said. "Working with _him_." She pointed at Deckard, took a few steps in his direction and stared at him through narrowed eyes, a stare deadly with hate. "He shouldn't even _be_ here."

"I'm afraid, we don't have a choice," Tej mumbled, and Letty immediately shot him that same angry look.

"There's _always_ a choice, Tej," she almost screamed. Everyone in the room could sense the feelings of Dom's betrayal finally coming to the surface. She couldn't choke them anymore. "We can do this alone. We don't need him," she shouted, desperately wanting her words to be true. She knew they didn't really have a better option, she couldn't think of one at least, but that didn't mean they had to accept dealing with Shaw without so much as having an argument about it.

"Let's get started, shall we?" the man in question said as though he was bored having to listen to her and deliberately provoked Letty by bumping her shoulder as he walked past her. "You can cry later."

Letty panted a little and gritted her teeth as if stifling rage. Breathing in heavily, she released a low growl as she exhaled. "One more thing," she said to him, as she turned around.

"What," he grunted—and the very second he looked back at her, Letty threw a right hook to his smug face, making contact perfectly. Her hand immediately started hurting a little, but she didn't care. That asshole had clearly been asking for it and she loved the bewildered look on the man's face, as he put his jaw back into place and adjusted his features into a look of approval, as was appropriate for someone who didn't let any weaknesses show.

"Not bad," Deckard responded, still holding his jaw. "Really not bad," he smirked. "I mean, for a _girl_."

"Don't push it," Letty snorted, clenching her fists again, but Tej quickly moved in her way.

"He's not worth it," he told her. "Let's find Dom, okay?"

Having said that, Tej fired up God's Eye to pin down Dom's location and quickly found what he was looking for. Apparently, Dom was in London. But while Letty was still wondering what he was doing there, God's Eye disclosed a different location. Now it said her husband was in Hong Kong. Letty frowned as even more matches showed up on screen. It was impossible for Dom to be at all these locations at the same time, so either God's Eye wasn't functioning properly or Cipher had found a way to mess with it—which made the most sense. She didn't want them to find Dom, because that man, _Letty's_ man, was obviously who she needed to execute whatever sick plan she had. She was using him and somehow he didn't even seem to mind. Or did he?

"And so, God's Eye was where we started, but Cipher's already created an evasion that masks her location by pinging random spots all over the globe," Mr. Nobody explained.

"So she's made my program obsolete," Ramsey noted.

"And that, Ramsey, is why you're here."

Letty, who had sat down on the stairs, could hear in Mr. Nobody's voice that he was obviously still convinced they would find them, find Dom, but she had almost lost every bit of hope. She heard all of them talk, but she hardly listened. The voice inside her head was screaming too loud. That voice telling her that her husband had betrayed his family, betrayed _her_ , and with all that, everything that had ever meant anything to him. She kept asking herself why. Why Dom would do that after everything they had been through, after they had been so happy honeymooning in Cuba, but it only made it all hurt more. Letty didn't have an answer to that question, not even an idea. All she had was the pain his actions had left her with.

"You see, in order for God's Eye to give up all these false pings, means they have to be using a free relay," Tej stated, to which only Ramsey knew anything to say.

"Which means it has a decaying sync quantizer."

"Which we can reverse."

"And track it back to the originating source," Ramsey started smiling, "and find Dom's true location."

Their plan proved to be working and that made Letty feel just a little bit better inside. Once they knew where Dom was, she could go there and talk to him. Ask him what the hell he was doing and let him know how hurt she was by his actions. She could convince him to stop whatever was going on, or at least convince Dom to tell her what he was doing it for, _who_ he was doing it for. Letty felt better knowing they were about to find him. But unfortunately, that good feeling she had only lasted until they actually managed to pin down his exact location and slowly realized they hadn't found _him_ but Dom had found _them_.

The second Mr. Nobody revealed Dom's location to be where they all where, a massive explosion ripped through Nowhere. A surge of energy spread out over the place like a big shock wave. Shards of broken glass pierced her skin as she fell to the ground, landing hard on the cold floor. Letty bit back a cry and tried to shield her face from anything else that could hurt her. She heard beeping sounds, like there were bombs ticking, and then seconds after that, the sound of more glass breaking as those beeping things, which she figured were grenades, went off not too far from her spot. The explosion was so powerful, even parts of the concrete ceiling came crumbling down, but Letty was lucky enough not to be in harm's way. She couldn't really move, or see or hear anything clearly, but then she saw him—Dom—wearing armor, and with a gun in his hand, as he walked towards them. And close beside him, there she was—Cipher.


	6. The Last Straw

_**A/N:** If you don't like  spoilers, stop reading now... It might make you happy to know that Letty will find out about Adan in the next chapter and there will also be a flashback. Thank you so much for following and fav'ing this story, and keep the reviews coming.  
_

* * *

"Did you all enjoy that? Next generation concussion grenade. It scrambles your senses," Cipher explained while the whole team was laying on the floor, squirming and writhing, as they all tried to recover from the attack. "Don't worry. It'll wear off in an hour. Probably." Then she looked down to the ground, with a smirk, clearly delighted at the sight of the older Shaw brother. "Hello, Deckard. Nice to see you again," she said, and laughed as a demon from hell would laugh.

"Look at this," she addressed Dom, turning her face away from Deckard and to him. Dom had that dark look on his face that he had showed off before, and for the first time, Cipher couldn't tell if it was just an act or not. It looked like he was completely on board with this, yet she thought she knew him well enough to know that Dom wasn't really the bad guy she may wanted him to be. "Body's not even cold, Dom. Your family is already replacing you." Pointing the gun at Deckard, she told him, "You chose the losing team. I guess your brother is smarter than you."

Dom looked at Shaw and couldn't stop thinking if there was any truth to that woman's words. Of course he knew Cipher was always trying to manipulate people, and he knew that Deckard being here didn't have to mean anything, but why the hell would his family chose to team up with the man who had killed Han? How could they do that? He didn't understand it. But did he even have the right to judge them considering he had turned his back on them? It was him who was working with the enemy after all, so _he_ was clearly the one to be judged here.

Dom's eyes caught the image of the other Shaw brother on one of the broken computer screens and he looked back at Deckard, trying to make sense of the connection. It all seemed confusing to him. Had they made a deal with this guy to save Owen if he decided to help them? Were they that desperate? Maybe he had caused more damage than he originally thought. He obviously had. Letty wouldn't do that to Han's legacy. None of them would. Not if there was any other way. Oh, how he wished he could put an end to all of this right now.

Dom followed Cipher, taking a few gunshots at the glass. He didn't know exactly why he was doing that. It was like he was trying to convince Cipher he really was on her side. Then he became aware of Letty's body right at his feet, and he dared to look down for a second at her small figure. He saw her holding her head in pain and immediately had to look away again. It was too much to bear. A pain pulsated just behind the dark mask that was his face, rooted in the fear that she wouldn't forgive him for putting her through this. She couldn't see it, but he was suffering like a wounded animal.

Letty met his cold eyes for a split second and what she saw in them scared her. He had never looked at her like that. She could feel that sharp gaze cut over her, so when Dom looked away, it was almost a relief. Her head still hurt too much for her to say something, but she wanted to scream; yell at him and ask him why he was doing this. Why he had chosen to give up everything good in his life, because of some woman he didn't know. She really wanted to believe he was still the same person, and that it was all just an act, but the guy standing next to her wasn't the man she knew. He just looked like him.

"Smart move embedding God's Eye into the mainframe," Cipher said as she removed it from the computer. "Irritating to make me have to come all the way down here to get it, but–" With God's Eye in her hand, she moved, walking past Dom, as she told him, "Let's go!"

It took all of Letty's strength to get a sound out. She was weak, but she just couldn't let him leave without so much as a word from him. So she said his name, out loud, and saw from the corner of her eyes that it resonated with him. Dom stopped in mid-stride and, in slow motion, turned around. The look on his face was still cold, but Letty felt strong enough now to hold Dom's gaze without giving in to the pain. She deserved an explanation, and even though she was sure to not get one, she had to talk to him.

"You're gonna turn your back on family?" she asked. "Just like that?"

The moment she said it, it felt like there was some change in him. It wasn't like his face softened, but she could see in his eyes that he was at least struggling to keep that dark mask on. She wished he would say something, _anything_ , to let her know that he was still with her; that he hadn't actually turned his back on the people most important to him. But he didn't open his mouth. He didn't even try. Why wasn't he trying? She wasn't imagining things. He was clearly trying to reinforce the facade crumbling before his face. How much longer could it stand up? She needed him to let go.

Letty watched as Cipher moved up to him, put one hand around Dom's neck and made him face her. Then she kissed him, and Letty instantly felt like someone had driven a spear through her heart. Although he didn't make any attempts to kiss Cipher back, the pain inside Letty was almost unbearable at seeing her husband lock lips with another woman. How could he just stand there and do nothing? Why didn't he push her away? She would've punched any guy, who tried to kiss her, in the face. Her lips were meant to be touched solely by Dom's. No one else was supposed to kiss her. How could he let Cipher do this? How could he let her hurt her so much?

When Cipher walked away, Dom's eyes stared back at Letty and she tried to look right through them, to find anything that was still worth fighting for. She would never give up on him, but she needed him to give her a beacon of hope that it would be worth it; that overcoming all this pain would be worth it in the end, because she had been right about him all along. She couldn't tell the others to keep believing in him and in the goodness of his heart when he didn't give her any reason to believe she should. Was he still in there? The man she loved? He just had to be, because she refused to believe that this was he.

Dom left and she kept staring at the spot he had just stood in, frowning, _hoping_ that what she felt was right and that he was doing these things, because that woman was somehow forcing his hand. Dom always made people believe to be this tough guy, but just like every other human being on this earth, he had a weakness and that was the love for his family. And it would've been easy for Cipher to figure that out quickly, because she had access to a lot of information. But if Cipher intended to blackmail him using his family as leverage, why was Dom working for her now? His family was _right here_ and there had been no sign of Cipher threatening them—well, up until now—so what on earth did that woman have on him to make him do this?

Letty scrunched down on the steps, burying her head in her arms. She didn't understand what the hell was going on anymore. In fact, she had never understood why Dom had left in the first place. She had tried to make sense of it, but the more time passed the less she could find any explanation for his behavior. It all just didn't make sense. It made her head hurt. And her eyes, because she was fighting back tears. Her _heart_ hurt. Damn it, she screamed internally, everything just _hurt_. There was an extreme pain rioting fiercely through her burning soul and she couldn't make it stop. If only someone could make it stop.

Her eyes stared straight in front of her, her face scarred by the things that had happened with Dom and Cipher. So she had sat for minutes—motionless, silent. The sound of footfall was audible and then she heard Luke's voice, asking her if she was okay. How could she be? How could she be okay when the person she loved most in the world had turned his back on her without so much as an explanation? How could she be okay when not long ago, she had been on her honeymoon, blissfully happy, and was now suffering through this painful thing that had turned her life around completely? How could she be okay when her husband had locked lips with another woman in front of her eyes without really resisting?

Letty looked up to him, hesitating to answer his question; trying to figure out what she could say. When she had, her voice was breaking, as she told Hobbs, "That wasn't him." She fought hard not to let her tears fall. It was almost impossible not to cry, but Letty was determined to keep hope alive. She still hadn't heard a single word from Dom and until she did, she would not let his behavior fool her. "I don't know what she's got on him," she continued, "but that wasn't Dom."

"Brian would know what to do," Roman said, and Letty quickly turned around.

"No," she shot back, looking at her friend with tear-filled eyes, but had to turn away again to hide the pain and desperation in her face. "We can't bring Brian and Mia into this." It was not like she didn't want to. God, she wished she could! Just talking to Mia would make her feel better, she knew that, but they had made a promise not to involve them in anything anymore that was going on. "We agreed on that," she said, desperately trying to fight the urge to do what Roman had suggested.

"I know," he answered, sighing.

* * *

When they were on the plane again, Dom took a moment of privacy to try shake off the image of Letty's grief-stricken face. He knew what all that had looked like to her and he wished he could just go back in time and explain everything to her, everything about him and Cipher and why he was working with her. Dom thought of Adan and all the horror he must have gone through. He really wanted nothing more than for all of three of them, his family, to be back together, but his work here was hardly finished. Cipher wanted him to take things even further, and to go to even darker places, before she would even consider letting his son go. He knew that, and he knew he didn't have a choice but to keep doing what Cipher asked of him.

"Back there, was that for her... for me... or you?" Dom confronted her about the kiss. "Or was that even necessary?"

Cipher sat in her chair, looking up at Dom. She knew of the anger inside of him that he tried so very hard to control and she almost smirked at his attempt to blame her for what had just happened. It was fun to toy with him like that; to play him like a card in a game of poker. Dom was the ace up her sleeve and he damn well knew it. But _she_ knew not to underestimate the danger of a man whose family was being threatened, and that she always needed to be careful to watch her back.

"Necessary? Nothing is necessary," she said, taking her headphones out. "Haven't you been listening to what I told you before? Everything is a _choice_. I simply made one but so did you." Dom knew she was right. "You could have stopped me, but you chose not to. Wonder what Letty thought about that." He did have a choice, the choice to stop her. He didn't take it. "Did you ever think that you would let someone hurt her like I did?"

Dom tried his best not to crack, and it seemed that was all he was doing ever since he had met her—trying not to let Cipher see how much he was actually struggling to keep a straight face; to act like he didn't care about anything but the job he needed to do to save his son. But he knew he couldn't afford to show weakness if he wanted this to be over quickly. No matter how hard it was to keep that mask on his face, Dom knew he could do it, as long as he just didn't stop trying.

He grabbed the armrest of Cipher's chair and gave it a strong tug until that she was facing him. Then he leaned down to her and spoke with a sharp edge in his voice, his eyes burning into her, "The problem of putting your foot on a Tiger's neck is you can never let it up." It was a threat. He was openly threatening her, and for a moment, Dom didn't know if that was a good idea, but Cipher didn't seem to care much anyway. She never did.

"I think I need to remind you," she said with that cold voice Dom was already so familiar with, "why you chose to be here."

He instantly backed away, but not as though she intimated him. "I know why," he answered, letting go of her chair. "But what I didn't know is how you found out about my son. How did you find him?" He didn't expect Cipher to tell him anything, but she suddenly smiled, as if she had been waiting for him to finally ask that question.

"I know everything," she vaunted, "Everything about everyone you ever met."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone," she repeated. "Friends and enemies."

"Even the Shaws?"

"Oh, please," she said, laughing, "I knew everything about them long before you came into the picture." She looked at him closely. "You see, Dom, I like to know who I'm dealing with, because I _hate_ surprises."

She opened a file on her computer, revealing information on Deckard and Owen Shaw. Every little thing there was to know about them, it was all in that file. Birth certificates, family members, and every single detail of every contact they ever had. She even had the details of people they apparently dated once. It must've taken her years to gather all that information, Dom thought. It could be worth a lot of money to the CIA.

"You wanna have a look?" Cipher asked him, as she got out of her chair. "I know Deckard killed your friend, that Korean guy, so maybe you'll find something here to get back at him, because contrary to what he believes, the man got his weaknesses." She laughed out loud, evil, leaving through the door. "I'll see you later, Toretto," she shouted before the sound of her footsteps fell silent and Dom was alone.

Sitting down, he had a long look at the screen, scanning it, gathering the information Cipher had gladly offered him. He didn't expect to do anything with it, though—until he found a contact that could actually help him save his son. But the plan he had thought of so quickly was still missing a piece, so he tried to find more. Thankfully, it only took him a few minutes. He still needed to hope that everyone would play along, but hope seemed to be a stubborn thing inside him these days, so he was fairly optimistic that his plan would work.

Writing down everything important for him, he shut down the computer and exited the room. When he had reached the place he was staying in, he sat down on the small couch and called the first number. As he waited for the other person to pick up, he thought of Letty, wondering again, if she would forgive him for all the poor choices he had made. Dom knew he could never make up for the hurt he had caused her, but maybe reuniting her with their son would heal her in ways she couldn't even imagine yet.

"Who is this?" a female voice with a strong British accent answered the phone. "And what do you want?"

"I need your help," he answered, "and I know you can use mine."

It turned out she knew very well who he was. She obviously had resources like Cipher did, not as many, but enough to convince herself that Dom was a man of his word, trustworthy, and an ally she could be lucky to have, if she wanted to get her son back and reunite her own family. They arranged to meet and Dom knew that if only one single thing went wrong, his whole plan would go south and he would be back at a dead-end with no way out but to follow Cipher's lead. He couldn't let that happen.

So he made another call, reaching out to a man whom once was only a stranger but who now had earned his respect and who Dom trusted enough to become a friend in this. If he wanted his plan to work, to save his son and get back to his family, he needed to form alliances with people he didn't even know a _thing_ about. Maybe he shouldn't trust them. Maybe he was meant to dig himself out of that hole he had thrown himself into, but Dom didn't see any way out. He was trapped.

"Raldo, it's me. Dom," he said hello, "Can you help a brother out?"

* * *

"Wait a minute, guys," Ramsay cut in. "I think Deckard's actually onto something. How do you think Dom and Cipher got into the country without us knowing?" When no one seemed to have an answer to that question, she gave it herself. "Ghost flights."

"I thought untraceable aircraft was all... internet conspiracy stuff," Tej wondered.

"It's not," Mr. Nobody rose to speak. "Satellites and radar grids all across the globe shift, like an ocean. And they've got channels that open and close," he explained, "and theoretically, if you know the right people who know the right patterns..."

"You can fly right through the blind spots completely undetected."

Letty raised her head. "So you know where Dom is headed?" That was all she really cared about. She didn't care about how Dom and Cipher had managed to enter the country without anyone knowing. She didn't care about all the tech stuff that, to some of them, might be impressive. She only cared about Dom. She wanted to see him again, _talk_ to him, no matter how much it hurt, it _would_ hurt. He was her only priority. They could do with Cipher whatever they wanted, she just wanted her husband back.

"Yeah, New York," Deckard replied, as the laptop finally spat out the destination of Cipher's plane.

Mr. Nobody laughed and Letty was almost indignant that he could find anything funny about the mess they were in. Was this whole thing just a joke to him? Eyeing him suspiciously, she swallowed her anger, trying to ignore his reaction, and got up from the chair. She quickly left the room, went straight outside and stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she heard the door shut. Leaning her back against the wall, she in- and exhaled deeply, closing her eyes. This was it—the last straw. She knew it, felt it. Because she was _done_ with Dom trying to avoid her.

She needed to tell him that he was out of his mind; needed _him_ to tell _her_ that he knew exactly what he was doing and who he was doing it for. She just wanted it to be over. All of it. She couldn't take it anymore. Things had been going from bad to worse for the past hour and now she barely had the strength to hold on to that last straw of hope. Would she ever be able to forgive him? She didn't know. She hoped she could, because no matter what Dom had done, she still loved him the same, and in her heart she knew, he did too, even if he had done everything he could to make her doubt that.


	7. Brave The Storm

_**A/N:** It's been a long, long time since my last update. Hopefully, this means I've got my inspiration back... As you may have noticed, I don't rewrite every scene of the movie. That'd be too much. I try to keep what's important tho. I said there would be a flashback, but it didn't fit. I'll do this in the next one. There's not much about Dom's plan bcuz I have no idea how he pulled that off, w_ _ow. Kudos to him! I was too lazy to proofread this tbh, I hope it all makes sense, but if you find any mistakes or any incoherences either keep that to yourself or notify me kindly. Thanks, and enjoy!  
_

* * *

"What are you doing?" Cipher's voice broke upon his ear, full of harshness and suspicion.

"Engine's misfiring, I gotta check it out," he answered.

"No, that's not part of the plan, Dom."

" _Clearly_! But unless you want the engine to cease on the job..."

"You have five minutes."

Dom got out of the car and popped the hood. Then he looked up into the camera at Cipher, knowing he only had this one chance and if he blew it, his son would most likely be dead. The real reason why he had pulled into the alley was that he was supposed to meet the woman he contacted from Cipher's plane in a pub nearby. Those five minutes would be enough to set his plan into motion. They had to be. He couldn't afford to fail, because his son's life depended on it.

Knowing Cipher had access to every single CCTV camera, Dom waited until Raldo pulled up with a delivery truck and blocked the view from the streets before he slipped away. His plan wasn't a very good one, as it had too many what if's hanging over him. Like, what if the woman he counted on to help him didn't even want to listen to him? But he still very much believed in his own words—some things you have to take on faith.

Walking in, he sat down at the table and looked at her. The smell of tea drifted through his nostrils. Fingers wrapped around it, Magdalene held the cup in her hand. Her white hair was cut about jaw-length. She wore hoop earrings and a leopard-print blazer, and a gold bracelet around her right wrist. He could instantly tell that the Shaw's mother was more of a lady than a woman, someone with authority and money. Although she hadn't said a word to him yet, Dom could tell she had a firm bridle on her emotions as she sat there with the graceful posture of a queen. She was someone he knew he shouldn't fuck with, because she had all the money in the world to make him pay for it.

"Do you know who I am?" she spoke with a strong British accent. She was actively guarded by a few men in suits, one of them coming to stand right behind Dom.

"Why I'm here," he replied, glancing over his shoulder.

"Do you know what I'm capable of?"

"That's why I'm here," he repeated. Staring at her, he wondered if this was really the way to go, except there was no going back now.

Magdalene raised the cup to her mouth, "I'll give you until I finish me cuppa... and I'm fucking thirsty."

"I got limited time, so I won't take up too much of yours," Dom told her as she sipped on her tea.

"Oh no," she interrupted him before he could continue, locking him in her icy stare. "No, you've already taken everything I ever valued, Mr. Toretto. What more could you possibly want?"

Another one of her men stepped forward. That's when Dom knew, he needed to be very careful now and choose his words wisely to get out of this alive. But he wasn't scared. He didn't fear anything. Not in this moment. The only thing he feared was that his son would be killed, so whatever he had to do to save him, he would do it. If Magdalene Shaw chose to kill him, then so be it. He had to try. He had to gain her trust somehow, because right now, she was the only one who could help him—she and her family.

"To give you something back," he said callously, and her eyes shot up and collided with his. Dom halted, staring intently at the older woman opposite him, then continued, "First time I saw my son, it was behind a bulletproof glass." She kept her gaze transfixed on him. "When he reached for me, I couldn't hold him. It's the worst pain I ever felt." Dom paused again, waiting, seeing how she was slowly starting to feel like she could trust him enough to agree to work with him. "I know you know exactly how that feels. Maybe we could change that."

"And now why do I think you're about to suggest something really dodgy, Mr. Toretto?"

Dom pulled a small touchscreen device out of his pocket and slid it across the table. She looked at it and then back at him. "It's why I'm here," he growled in his deep voice and authoritative tone that always had the effect of mesmerizing. "To make a proposal."

"And what do you _propose_?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

"This thing got the coordinates of two locations. One tracks the plane where my son is being held captive. The other is where _your_ son is… left for dead in a black site prison."

"Owen," Magdalene let out, her soft voice and the bewildered look on her face almost betraying her true feelings. She'd never expected to ever see her youngest son again. Now she was offered a chance to _save_ him.

"Anything else you need to know about how we can help each other, you find in one of the files I uploaded on that thing… including any information you need on the people I call my family... In case you're still wondering who _I_ am," Dom let go of the device, "and if you can trust me." He slowly got up from the chair and walked to the exit door, hoping everything would work out just the way he'd planned.

* * *

Letty quickly snatched the case from his hand and ran away. She could hear him shouting, telling her to stop, then the sound of footfall behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, saw him following her, and she tried to run faster but it was as though her legs were failing her—maybe because she was tired of running and wanted answers from him. Answers, like why he had just shot Deckard, why he was doing all of this and why he wasn't talking to her in the first place. Why was Dom pushing her away? Hurting her?

Turning the corner, she ran into an alley, away from him, away from the pain he was causing her when she looked at him and couldn't deny that he was still the same person she had been on a honeymoon with. That was the thing that hurt the most. It wasn't about what he did, but that he really did it with a clear state of mind. He didn't seem like he'd been brainwashed. He was acting like this totally different person, but it was still Dom. _He_ did all this and he knew how much it hurt everyone else, especially her.

Letty almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of a gun being fired off right behind her. She slowly turned around and saw Dom lowering his arm that held the weapon. So, now he was shooting at her, too? Well, technically, he hadn't aimed the gun at her, but the fact he'd fired it into the air to stop her, hurt just the same as if a bullet had struck the brick wall next to her head. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he didn't have such a clear state of mind, because he seemed completely out of it. He was acting insane!

She kept staring at him—he stared back at her—but Letty couldn't see through him. She couldn't understand why he was acting this way. Why he didn't tell her what Cipher had done to him to make him turn away from his family. Why wouldn't he confide in her? Let her in on whatever crazy thing that woman was holding him hostage for? Because she was. He _had_ to be trapped in a dead-end corner where the only way out was to do what she wanted. There was no way in hell he was doing all of this because he believed it was the right thing to do. Yet the question remained what it was that kept him stuck in that impasse, unable to fight back.

"What has she got on you to make you think that you're alone?" Tears started burning behind her eyelids. Letty blinked them back. "Look at me, babe" she pleaded with him. "I'm _here_! I'm with _you_... I've _always_ been with you. Talk to me… Please!"

Dom sunk his teeth into his bottom lip and Letty could see that he was trying hard not to cry. He still didn't say anything, even though he saw both their hearts lying in pieces on the ground right before him. The hand with which he held the gun seemed to shake. She was _this_ close to getting through to him, but somehow he managed to keep his walls up. She just couldn't tear them down. And Letty couldn't for the love of God understand why he was making it so hard for her—for them. Why wasn't he talking to her, now that they were alone? Didn't he trust her? He seemed so cold, so aloof, and yet so broken. She just wanted to throw her arms around him and tell him everything would be all right.

"I don't know why you're doing this, but I know _one_ thing..." Staring at him with watery eyes, she had to swallow hard to keep herself from breaking down. "You _love_ me," Letty knew that without a doubt, "and you are _not_ gonna shoot me."

She turned around, walking away—a move so simple but so difficult for her to pull of in that moment. Letty had never felt so weak in her legs. And with every step she made her heart seemed to break more. She wished Dom would call out her name again to stop her, like he had done when she had taken the case from him, but he didn't. She didn't even hear him following her. Didn't he care enough after all? She really believed he loved her, but she just wanted him to act like it. Or did he prefer to have her doubt him? Did Dom actually want her to think he didn't care about her? She couldn't tell. She couldn't think straight. Her head spun, her gut tensed and she was on the verge of bursting into torrents of tears. There was too much sadness, too much pain to contain in her breaking heart. She was hurting too much to try to understand his behavior, his reasoning. But she had to keep it together. Just a little longer until she could hide away somewhere.

As Letty turned the corner, she was pushed hard against the wall, the gun snatched from inside her pocket and thrown away. It all happened so fast that she wasn't able to defend herself. She was taken completely by surprise and it took her a moment to realize that it was Cipher's henchman she was facing now. The tall man with the long, red hair and the full, red beard stood in front of her, pointing his gun at her chest. Letty felt her stomach contract. Her breath stopped. She was paralyzed for a moment, but then she managed to regain her composure, staring at him with dark eyes.

"You should've given _him_ the case," he told her, grabbing her wrist. "'Cause I won't chase you." He attempted to take the case from her, but Letty only relinquished her grip for a second, then she offered resistance by wrapping her fingers more tightly around the handle. "Okay," he said with a smirk, his lips curling up. "I will just take it from a dead girl."

When he put the gun to her head, Letty was sure, this was it. That man was going to shoot her and there was nothing she could do about it. She could kick him in the balls with her knee, fight back somehow, because God knew she knew how to throw a punch, but she had been through so much the last few days that dying didn't even seem to be the worst thing that could happen to her anymore. Did she want her life to be over? No. But to get shot in the head seemed less painful than looking at Dom and not recognizing him anymore. She felt like she was lost at sea, caught in a storm with no lifeboat and no hope of rescue. Compared to everything Cipher had done to her life, _ending_ it was just a breeze. She wasn't frightened, or scared. She was living a freaking nightmare, so death couldn't possibly be worse than that. The power of her stare was all Letty had left as a sign of resistance, as she listened to the sound of her opponent cocking his weapon—a metallic click next to her, a cocking hammer of a handgun, broke that stare. She glanced to the side and there he was…

The scene fell strangely silent for a second, Rhodes eyeing Dom, who was holding his gun to his head. Dom was aware of the risk he took, threatening Cipher's protégé. She was watching. He knew she was always watching. She could see what he was doing and he knew he might just now have signed his son's death warrant, but he would never stand by and watch _anyone_ kill the woman he loved. He couldn't. Letty meant the world to him. Even if she may have stopped believing it after all he had done, she still did, and he would do everything in his power to protect her. But he couldn't look at her, because he knew that if he did, his expression would soften into guilt. And right now, he needed his eyes to look sinister and cold. He needed Rhodes to know that he wouldn't hesitate to shoot him, if he pulled that trigger. Cipher wanted the case, and Dom wanted her to have it, that hadn't changed. But he would not let Letty die. She couldn't die for it. She couldn't die for _him_. Not again.

"You willing to die for it?"

The two men stared at each other, a dark silence hanging between them for a long moment. Then Rhodes eyes shot back to Letty and he made another attempt at stealing the case from her. And another. She didn't let go. She was holding onto it, giving him her best blank stare—the look that made most people squirm—with her lips pressed tightly into a straight line. Rhodes looked at Dom as though he was looking for an answer, and Dom knew he had to do something. This whole situation wasn't going to end well, he could tell. And he didn't want Letty to be in any more pain than she already was. He loved that she was like that, stubborn, fierce and strong. She didn't seem scared of anyone. She wasn't afraid to fight, even with a gun being pointed at her head. But he wanted this to be over. He wanted it all to be over. And if she didn't let go of that case real soon, then things would become much, much worse. So, he looked at her, and he tried his best to keep a straight face. He waited for her to meet his eyes, preparing for his thuggish demeanor to fall to pieces and forcing him to avert his gaze.

Letty looked right into Dom's eyes, but couldn't hold his stare. It hurt too much. It was all too much, too confusing. Her lids shut slowly as she fought through the brief moment of anguish, not wanting to be vulnerable in front of the person threatening her. She turned her head away from him and let out a breath with no idea how long she'd been holding it, and then released the suitcase. She was tired of fighting him—Dom. And for that brief moment when she had looked into his eyes, she had seen whose side he was still on. He had threatened to kill that guy, he was still pointing his gun at him, but if Dom had killed him, _after_ he had killed him, he would have asked her to give him the case. She knew he would have. And he probably would not have let her get away again. He was still doing Cipher's dirty work. She was only lucky because he loved her. Dom loved her too much to hurt her physically and that's why she had gotten away earlier. It was over now. She had not only given up that case, Letty was slowly but surely giving up in general. She needed something, like a sign, to prove to her that it was worth it to keep fighting, because she simply didn't believe that anymore. If it kept going on like this, setback after setback, she would lose the last bit of hope she had left that everything would turn out to be okay again.

"Let's go then," Rhodes said, lowering his weapon and leaving the scene.

Dom stood still, hesitating to look at Letty, but then their eyes met and he could see how broken she was inside. He couldn't fix her. He couldn't tell her. Not yet. But soon it would be over and then maybe, just maybe, she would be able to forgive him and listen to how much he hated himself for putting her through this. How deeply he loved her. How much it hurt to watch her in the depths of despair and hopelessness, because Dom knew that's the state she was in. He knew his girl. He knew when she was trying to be strong and not let her vulnerability show. And right now, right there in her eyes, he saw the damage he had done to her soul. Letty was always silent in her pain, screaming without a voice. He could probably count the number of times he'd seen her cry on the fingers of one hand. But she had suffered a lot in her life. She had been hurt a lot. And at this very moment, she was screaming at him with all the pain and agony he had caused her—silently, yet it was like he could hear her screams ringing loudly in his ear. Dom couldn't bear to be in the presence of so much heartache, so he turned and walked away, leaving her again. And when he was gone, the remnants of Letty's cool façade crumbled and a waterfall of tears poured down her face.

It took her a while until she had calmed down and felt confident enough to face the others. As everyone assembled at the headquarters, the atmosphere in the room was filled with mixed emotions. They all felt defeated, betrayed, hurt; so many things that neither of them really spoke openly about it. Letty hadn't said much since she got there, a word maybe. Enough to let them know they better not ask her any questions. She was sitting on the stairs, her eyes still wet with tears, though they weren't pouring down anymore. The D.O.D. had confirmed that Dom had stolen a nuclear football. Cipher had an EMP and nuclear launch codes now, so while he didn't know what it was, Little Nobody was sure she was building towards something. Deckard was dead. That was confirmed, too, and it upset everyone except her. She didn't give a rat's ass about Shaw. But that guy who had attacked her was still on her mind. She cared about him, about finding out who he was, because something inside her was telling her that she had seen him before. Letty just couldn't put her finger on it. He seemed familiar, but her head was spinning and it was impossible to make the connections. She needed help.

"Can you pull up the footage from the guy in the alley?" she asked, and soon she looked at his picture on the screen, a still from one of the traffic cams. "I knew it." She had seen him before. "I recognize that guy. That's Connor Rhodes. I met him when I was working with Shaw's brother," she explained. "He wanted us to get the Nightshade device for him."

It turned out that Rhodes was also linked to Moses Jakande, who had tried to steal God's Eye. And although a lot seemed to make more sense now, which was certainly helping, Letty was still coping with the fact that Dom was a million miles away from her emotionally. The guys around her kept talking about what to do, about what Cipher's plan was, where she was headed, but their voices seemed to fade away in Letty's mind. She stood up, telling the others that she would go freshen up and be back soon, as she walked to the ladies' room. Of course they didn't believe her and thought she was just trying to get away so they couldn't see her cry or something. She knew that. She could see it in their eyes. But Letty didn't care, because she really just wanted to go to the restrooms. She wanted to splash warm water on her face and wipe off what was left of her tears. She wanted to wipe off that look of complete and utter frustration, desperation. She was tired of seeing that look on her face. The person staring back at her in the mirror was one she didn't recognize. She looked defeated. She felt defeated. She closed her eyes, heaving a deep sigh. Was there still hope?

Suddenly, a hand yanked at her arm and, although she was startled, Letty immediately tried to break free. "Relax," a familiar voice sounded. "It's me."

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Letty almost screamed, looking right at the man who was supposed to be dead. "How did you get in here?"

"It doesn't matter," Deckard said sternly. "I need to talk to you, Letty. Now!"

"Why would I wanna talk you? I don't even like you," she hissed, freeing herself from his grasp.

"Because I know where your _son_ is," he said with a blank expression on his face. He stared at the Latina whose mouth dropped open. Letty gasped and then her legs gave away and she fell to the ground. Deckard tried to grab her arm to steady her, but it was too late. She broke down, her breathing becoming ragged, like she was having a panic attack. He crouched down next to her, and his voice sounded genuinely concerned when he said her name, "Letty..."


End file.
